Max Fried was on the mound in San Diego on Friday night to pitch for the New York Yankees against the Padres.
In the end, he might've been pulled just a little earlier than he would've liked.
The Yankees were tied 1-1 in the sixth inning when they pulled Fried with two outs.
As had been hinted previously, the Yankees turned to Will Warren as a piggyback after Fried's night was done.
The Yankees were always going to be cautious with Fried on Friday night.
It was just his second start back from injury, and he's not fully stretched out yet.
In Fried's first outing of his return from rehab assignment, he threw 63 pitches.
Fried upped that to 72 on Friday night, and the Yankees decided not to try and push him for one more out.
The bummer for Fried is that since the game was tied, he doesn't have a chance to get a win on his record, and he also came up one out short of adding one to his quality start tally for the season.
But it's good news overall for the Yankees, because Fried looked sharp, and that's the biggest takeaway for sure.
This is the much more important fact, and the answer is that Fried pitched quite well.
His final stat line:
5.2 innings
4 hits allowed
1 earned run allowed
1 walk
4 strikeouts
Fried "built up to 72 pitches and looked sharp doing so," the New York Post's Greg Joyce wrote on X.
It's also good news for the Yankees that Fried got decent distance into Friday's game, because it sets their bullpen up nicely for the weekend.
The Yankees have six starters up in the majors currently, including rookie Elmer Rodriguez, which allowed Warren to pitch in relief Friday.
The Yankees have Carlos Rodon on the bump Saturday and can likely expect a solid outing from him.
Then on Sunday, it's Gerrit Cole. This really sets up as a positive pitching weekend for the Yanks.
The Padres answer with Robbie Ray on Saturday and Michael King on Sunday, so all the way around there will be quality arms on the hill at Petco Park.
It was Fried who set the right tone for the Yankees, one they'll enjoy going forward as they try to chase down the top spot in the AL East, which is still held by the Tampa Bay Rays but which is within striking distance.
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