Andres Chavez
The standings might show a 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon, but box scores in mid-March are often just decoys. For the Yankees, the real story at George Steinbrenner Field was the odometer on Max Fried’s left arm.
As the spring record moves to 13-8, the focus has shifted entirely from the final score to the buildup of the staff’s anchor. Fried looked like a marathon runner hitting his stride at exactly the right mile marker, navigating 5.1 innings and touching the 75-pitch threshold.
The southpaw surrendered three earned runs on five hits, but those numbers are a bit of a mirage. He didn’t walk a single batter and retired four on strikes, displaying the kind of surgical precision that made his debut season in pinstripes so memorable.
Only one of those five hits went for extra bases, suggesting he was inducing the kind of weak contact that keeps pitch counts low and managers happy. It was a professional outing that deserved a better fate, but in the grand scheme of a Florida afternoon, the results are secondary to the health. Fried is now lined up for one final tune-up before he takes the ball in San Francisco on March 25. With Gerrit Cole still rounding into form, the Yankees are leaning on Fried to be the steady hand at the top of the rotation, and he looks ready to carry that weight.
One Giant Leap for the Martian
While the rest of the Yankee bats seemed to be stuck in a spring haze, Jasson Dominguez looked like he was playing at a different altitude. The Martian was the only member of the lineup to log more than one hit, putting together a perfect 2-for-2 afternoon that acted as a microcosm of his entire spring. He drove in a run, scored one himself, and was a constant threat on the basepaths, recording a stolen base before later being caught on a separate attempt.
His spring OPS now sits at a towering 1.081, a figure that suggests he isn’t just ready for the regular season—he’s practically daring the league to try and get him out. It’s a shame there is no room for him in the MLB outfield.
There were other flashes of life, like Braden Shewmake’s home run and Cody Bellinger’s triple, while Ben Rice and Paul DeJong chipped in with doubles. However, the offense largely lacked the sustained pressure needed to overcome the Phillies’ lead, resulting in a relatively quiet day at the plate for the majority of the starters.
Bullpen Sprints and Sunday’s Doubleheader
The relief work provided a study in contrasts. Jake Bird was the picture of efficiency, carving through 1.1 clean innings and striking out two. He looked like a man with a plane ticket already booked for Opening Day. On the other side of the coin, Angel Chivilli had a frustrating outing. He managed to rack up six swings and misses, proving his stuff has plenty of bite, yet he still surrendered a pair of runs. It was a reminder that in baseball, missing bats is only half the battle if the misses don’t turn into outs.
The pace picks up significantly as the weekend closes. The Yankees will split their squad on Sunday for two separate contests, taking on the Detroit Tigers at 1:05 pm before facing the Baltimore Orioles at 6:05 pm ET. It will be a final chance for the bubble players to make their case before the roster trim begins in earnest.
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