TAMPA -- Yankees left-handed ace Max Fried finished what appeared to be his seventh hitless inning against the Rays on Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field. But as he headed out to the mound for the bottom of the eighth, his no-hitter was over.
Between the half-inning break, official scorer Bill Mathews changed a sixth-inning error on Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a hit for Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson.
Here's what happened: With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Simpson hit a roller to Goldschmidt's right that clanked off his glove. Simpson is one of the fastest players in the Majors, so even a clean play by Goldschmidt would have been a close call -- though Goldschmidt and Fried teamed up to make a nifty play when Simpson hit a near-identical ball in the third inning.
But as Simpson raced Fried to the bag in the sixth, he was sure the result would be different.
"I knew I was going to be safe," said Simpson, who was playing in his second career MLB game. "... I kind of looked at [Fried], knew I had some space, so I knew I was going to be [safe]."
Yankees manager Aaron Boone thought similarly.
"Look, we¡¯re not going to beat [Simpson] to the bag," Boone said. "So I get it, but it makes it a little dicey when it¡¯s within the game or obviously with a no-hitter going on. But the reality is, it was a hit.¡±
However, the play was initially ruled as the Yankees' third error of the game. Simpson admitted that he was surprised by the decision. And then a question popped into his head: "I asked if you could overrule that."
Sure enough, Mathews announced the change between the top and bottom of the eighth inning. Right fielder Jake Mangum then led off the Rays' eighth with a clean single to center field.
¡°I had no idea," Fried said about the scoring change. "I looked up and saw two hits. It is what it is."
Simpson was preparing for his at-bat in the bottom of the eighth when he was told that he had his second MLB hit.
"I'm glad they overturned it," he said.
Simpson was the last batter Fried faced on the day, as the lefty got him to hit into a forceout for the second out of the inning. Fried then departed to a standing ovation from the contingent of Yankees fans on hand in Tampa.
Fried tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings in the Yankees' 4-0 victory, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 1.42 through his first five starts with New York.
"I¡¯m just happy we got the win," Fried said.
After signing an eight-year, $218 million contract on Dec. 17, Fried has quickly cemented himself as the ace of the staff, playing an outsized role amid an avalanche of injuries. Fried has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his first five starts.
"I don't think Max cares about that kind of stuff," Aaron Judge said about the scoring change. "He's worried about going out there, helping the team, helping us win. He pitched a heck of a game."