Max Fried has been worth every penny so far for the New York Yankees.
A $218 million offseason contract to come to the pressure cooker in the Bronx could've worn him down. Instead, it has lifted him up.
Fried's impact may show most in his stats following a New York loss.
When Fried starts the day after the Yankees lose, he has a 0.57 ERA across seven starts, according to Baseball Reference's Katie Sharp. He has 44 strikeouts in 47 innings in that scenario.
Fried did it again on Thursday night against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Yankees were shut out on Wednesday but then Fried took the ball and helmed a shutout right back. He went six innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out seven, and the Yankees went on to win 4-0.
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New York has lost plenty in the games before Fried pitches this year as the rest of the pitching rotation deals with near-constant injury problems.
But Fried has been the best constant of the group, possessing a 1.78 ERA for the entire season with an 8-1 record.
It's hard to overstate how rough pitching would've been for the Yankees if they didn't have Fried.
But thankfully for the men in pinstripes, Fried is their guy, and he's found a way to deliver when they need it, again and again.
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