ST. LOUIS — Max Fried hasn’t been good since the calendar turned to July, and Saturday night was the latest example as the lefthander turned in his worst start as a Yankee.
But on this night, it didn’t cost his team. And Fried even picked up the victory.
With Ben Rice continuing to cement his status as an everyday player — whether it be at catcher or at first base — by tying his career high with seven RBIs, the Yankees’ offense overwhelmed the Cardinals, 12-8, in front of 33,800 at Busch Stadium.
“I can’t give the guys enough credit,” Fried said. “They came out today and played a great game and picked me up big time.”
The Yankees (66-57), who have won four of their last five games and have won back-to-back series for the first time since late May, stayed 6 1⁄2 games behind the AL East-leading Blue Jays and inched two games ahead of the Guardians for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot. They are 1 1⁄2 games behind the Red Sox and Mariners, who are tied for the first two wild cards.
Led by Rice, who started the season as the club’s primary designated hitter, the Yankees outhit the Cardinals 15-12 and came back from a 5-2 deficit after two innings.
Rice went 3-for-5 with his 18th home run, a double and a walk. His 429-foot three-run shot off former Yankee Sonny Gray (11-6, 4.30) in the fourth gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead. His three-run double in the sixth made it 9-5 and his RBI single in the seventh gave the Yankees an 11-7 lead.
Trent Grisham went 4-for-5 with a walk and four runs scored and Aaron Judge was 2-for-3 with his 39th homer and two walks.
“A bunch of different guys up and down the lineup helping us out in a bunch of different ways,” Grisham said. “It was a lot of fun to be a part of.”
That included the No. 9 hitter, trade-deadline pickup Jose Caballero, who went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs and two stolen bases to up his total in that category to 39.
“What a good player,” Aaron Boone said. “Just plays the game within the game, does a lot of things well. Smart, heady player. I’m really excited we got him.”
The offensive outburst overshadowed Fried’s night to a degree, but only to a degree. For the Yankees to get anywhere close to where they want to be this season, he has to be right, and he hasn’t been anything close to that for the last 1 1⁄2 months.
He allowed a season-high seven runs and matched a season high by allowing eight hits in five innings-plus.
After finishing June with a 1.92 ERA in 17 starts, Fried (13-5, 3.26) has allowed 31 earned runs, 49 hits and 16 walks in 41 innings in his last eight starts for a 6.80 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.
Though Boone boiled down his recent struggles to needing to find that “next level of command,” Fried didn’t jump to endorse that explanation.
“I don’t know in this moment I have the best answer for you on that,” said Fried, who retire 11 of 12 batters at one point. “Had one walk tonight . . . I definitely have to change something. Mechanics are fine. Just haven’t been sharp and haven’t had the good results. When you have to go out there and have good outings, I haven’t been able to do that. I’m working hard in between to make the best adjustments that I can and they haven’t really been showing.”
Staked to a 9-5 lead, Fried allowed a two-run homer by Nolan Gorman in the sixth to make it 9-7. Struggling changeup specialist Devin Williams settled things down by striking out the side, all with mid-90s fastballs, and Yerry De los Santos held St. Louis scoreless in the seventh and eighth.
Ryan McMahon led off the seventh with his first homer as a Yankee — and 17th of the season — to make it 10-7. Rice’s RBI single and Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s sacrifice fly gave the Yankees a 12-7 lead as they scored three runs for the third time in four innings.
After the Cardinals pulled within 12-8 on Pedro Pages’ home run off Mark Leiter Jr. in the ninth, a pair of two-out infield singles put the tying run in the on-deck circle and brought Boone from the dugout. David Bednar got Ivan Herrera to foul out to end it and earned his 20th save (third with the Yankees).
“We’re here to win games, so really fortunate today that they put up 12 runs to be able to cover me,” said Fried, who recorded his 1,000th career strikeout by fanning Alec Burleson for the second out of the second inning, just after allowing Masyn Winn’s three-run homer that put the Yankees in a 5-2 hole. “But I know going forward I have to be way better. I definitely want to pitch better. I’m not in any panic mode, but there’s motivation to make sure I don’t keep doing this.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday’s sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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