On Wednesday afternoon at Frigid Comerica Park, the New York Yankees avoided a three-game sweep with a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Offseason Award Max Fried was fantastic, inciting 11 in seven shutout innings on a day when the New York bullpen needed a breather. Ben Rice, who is filling up for Giancarlo Stanton, injured in DH, slugs two-run homer.
This is Freed’s masterpiece. He surpassed his high school teammate Jack Flaherty.
The Yankees took a 4-0 lead in nine innings, and the Tigers made it interesting against Devin Williams, closer than the two All-Stars. Williams allowed two singles and two walks in the ninth, and was charged with three runs. He needed 33 pitches to get two outs and Mark Reiter Jr. had to score the game’s final out on a tie run at 2 base.
For Williams, Wednesday’s meltdown continued its rough start to his first season with the Yankees. He allowed the run and nearly blows off saves on the first day when he left out the run he ran on the third and second run. He also allowed a walk-off single with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, but that was with the autorunners in additional innings.
Williams allowed five hits in three innings this season and five runs (4 wins) on four walks. He hit five and retired only half of the batsmen he faced. Williams claims he is healthy because it is worth it. He’s a little far away and says he’s usually a slow starter anyway.
Williams’ biggest problem right now is his changeup, the Airbender. This has been one of the most dominant pitches in the sport in recent years, but this year’s small sample was ineffective. The batsman has missed nearly 50% of his swing against airbenders in Williams’ career. This season, it’s 25%. On Wednesday, there was one whim with six swings.
Williams has only pitched four times in 12 New York games this year, and while he was on his father’s list last week, he’s not doing a consistent job as he was away from the Yankees from three games. If he’s still struggling in a few weeks, that’s going to be even more worrying. For now, that’s a rough start to the season. It’s not that heart proximity is the most enjoyable experience to sit on.
The 30-year-old pitcher will become a free agent this season. The Yankees acquired him from the brewers for a trade that sent Nestor Cortez and minor league infielder Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee. Cortez has one terrible start this year (against the Yankees) and one great start and is currently on the list of injured flexor strains.
