BRONX, NY — Wednesday’s split-admission doubleheader against the Pirates at The Stadium was what the Yankees had envisioned for the top of their starting rotation when Max Fried signed with the pinstripes in December of 2024.
An elite one-two punch of Fried (8 years/$218 million) and Gerrit Cole (9 years/$324 million) in whichever order taking the mound in the Bronx.
Those plans changed quickly in March of 2025 due to Cole having to undergo Tommy John surgery, miss the entirety of the season and the beginning of 2026. And then just before Cole made his return this year in the middle of May, Fried was put on the shelf due to a bone bruise in his throwing elbow.
Before Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. the Pirates at Yankee Stadium, Gerrit Cole and Max Fried had yet to be on the Yankees’ active roster together – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Back-to-back blows.
From then to now however Cam Schlittler, who has become a star within one calendar year, put himself on the map, helping the Yankees at the top of their rotation, while lessening those injury blows.
In the absences of Gerrit Cole and Max Fried due to injuries, Cam Schlittler stepped up for the Yankees and ascended into becoming one of the best pitchers in today’s game – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
So a year and a half later and the long wait of Cole-Fried lived up to the hype.
Cole, 35—facing the team he was drafted by and made his MLB debut with—struck out a season-high 11 Pirates in Wednesday’s opening game. This came across seven innings of three run ball, him recording 21 swings and misses (also a season-high), and starting off perfect through his first 14 batters.
2023 American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole started off Wednesday afternoon’s affair vs. the Pirates on a perfect note, not allowing a hit or walk across his first 14 batters faced – Image Credit: Al Pereira/Latino Sports
But as Cole was dealing, the Yankee bats could not muster much together and the right-hander later made two untimely mistakes, surrendering home runs to Jacob Gonzalez and Nick Gonzales, which resulted in the Yankees losing the afternoon game by a final of 5-3 in 10 innings.
Despite those two mistakes, Cole showed who he can be once again.
“I thought we had a good mix and we were executing a lot of pitches and staying aggressive,” the right-hander said. “I thought it was a good step going forward for sure, and all things considered, it’s been really good throughout the whole year, but we’re always trying to fine-tune and get a little bit better so we’re staying on that trend.”
Of Cole’s performance, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “I thought Gerrit was really good again. He had everything kind of going. Both slider and curveball were factors, and the changeup was good for the most part.”
In the nightcap, Fried, 32—setting the tone for a Yankees 2-0 shutout victory to split the doubleheader vs. the Pirates—went all out with a limited pitch count (55-60 total) and struck out seven hitters over five scoreless innings (57).
At the same time of the left-hander providing the Yankees offense with a long enough rope to figure out a way to win the game, Fried delivered a glimpse of what could come as the season goes on and the two get more and more in tune on the bump.
“I thought this was as good as he’s looked in any of his other starts all year,” Boone said of Fried’s return, happy with the results. “You’re hoping he can get you through three (innings)… then to see him go through five and be that efficient, he was really sharp and he was dealing.”
“I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes today… felt like the pitch execution was really good, and it was nice to get through five,” Fried added.
2025 American League LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year Jasson Domínguez brought in the first run of the second game with an RBI double in the seventh and Anthony Volpe shortly after drove him in on an RBI single.
That was all the production at the plate for the night game.
Nevertheless, by being back on the mound and healthy, the force of what Cole (3-5, 3.92 ERA) and Fried (4-3, 2.97 ERA) could be together was finally put on display Wednesday.
What’s ahead should only get better and better.
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