Fried extends dominance as Yankees top White Sox for 19th win

Max Fried stretched his dominant season for the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, earning his MLB-leading 19th win as the Yankees routed the Chicago White Sox 8-1 in the Bronx. The left-hander worked seven innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out seven, lowering his ERA to 2.86 in the final regular-season start of his first season in pinstripes.

Chicago opened the second with two singles, and Corey Julks reached on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s fielding error, but Fried recovered to retire the next two hitters and went on to dominate the rest of the night, yielding four hits and one run across seven innings while fanning seven.

Over his past seven starts, Fried has not allowed more than three earned runs. He owns a 1.55 ERA over 46 1/3 innings and has yielded only one home run, by Alex Bregman on Sept. 13.

Manager Aaron Boone hailed Fried as "a horse for us, an ace, and now looking forward to giving him the ball in October," saying he navigated the season with poise and leadership and has become a central part of the Yankees’ pitching culture.

Asked to sum up the season, Fried kept the focus on the team’s goals. "Not finished yet. It’s been very apparent the goal of this team is to go to [the] playoffs, get deep in the playoffs and win a World Series," he said. "I like to put a lot of team goals in front of how I individually do. If we come out and go deep in the playoffs and win a World Series, I’ll say it was successful. But we have a long way to go."

The game capped a season in which Fried will finish with career highs in innings pitched (195 1/3), strikeouts (189) and wins (19). The run of success comes after New York began the year without its ace, Gerrit Cole, prompting questions about the top of the rotation. Fried answered with consistency and leadership that helped steady a pitching staff that also includes a deep bullpen and a strong turn from fellow starters.

"Pretty amazing to see the work he’s done with a lot of our younger guys," Aaron Judge said. "We’re talking about game-planning, pitching. It’s almost like having another Gerrit." The Yankees moved into a first-place tie in the A.L. East with the skidding Blue Jays, setting up a pivotal stretch run as the calendar shifts to October.

Fried’s final regular-season start in pinstripes leaves the Yankees in a favorable position for the postseason. With his presence at the top of the rotation, New York will head into October confident that a proven, durable ace has turned the season’s early disruption into one of the league’s most reliable narratives. As the team eyes a deep playoff run, Fried emphasized the collective focus remains on advancing through the postseason rather than celebrating individual milestones.