DETROIT -- As Max Fried made the long walk across Comerica Park¡¯s outfield towards center field Wednesday afternoon to begin his pregame warmup routine, the Yankees left-hander caught a glimpse of high-school teammate Jack Flaherty doing the same on the Tigers side.
They¡¯d seen each other in their Major League travels plenty of times. But never like this, never against each other.
¡°It was cool to be able to walk out before the game and give him a little head nod,¡± Fried said.
As both would say, the former Harvard-Westlake rotation mates weren¡¯t facing each other; they were facing the opposing lineup. Still, for fans, the high school reunion didn¡¯t disappoint.
¡°We¡¯re both competitive, and so we knew we were locked in and had a job to do,¡± Fried said. ¡°But it was fun. It was a cool experience, but we lost the first two [games] of the series, and I just wanted to make sure that I did whatever I could to keep us in the game to hopefully come out with the win.¡±
For much of the day, Fried and Flaherty traded zeroes, combining to strike out 20 batters. All the scoring in the Yankees¡¯ 4-3 win came against the respective bullpens, including Ben Rice¡¯s go-ahead two-run homer off Tyler Holton in the seventh and three ninth-inning runs off Yankees closer Devin Williams. But to Flaherty, the difference came in the extra five outs Fried delivered for his club, earning the victory with seven scoreless innings, no walks and 11 strikeouts.
¡°Max, he was unbelievable today. He outpitched me,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°And at the end of the day, it might have been the difference. We had to go to a couple more guys in our pen. If I stay away from that long second inning, it hopefully leads to getting a little deeper into games.¡±
The rotation at Harvard-Westlake in 2012 could¡¯ve formed the foundation of a Major League staff. Fried transferred in for his senior season and joined Flaherty and Lucas Giolito. While Fried and Giolito graduated and went seventh and 16th respectively in that summer¡¯s MLB Draft, Flaherty had two more seasons before becoming the 34th overall pick in 2014. Their pitching coach, Ethan Katz, turned pro as well in 2013, and has been the White Sox pitching coach since 2021.
Flaherty and Giolito pitched opposite each other in 2021 with the Cardinals and White Sox, respectively. But while Fried and Flaherty had crossed paths often, they¡¯d never matched up.
¡°I don't think we ever really talked about if we matched up,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°We've been in different settings, played against each other, watched each other throw, but never matched up on the same day.¡±
Their performance Wednesday gave them plenty to talk about.
The Tigers like to platoon left- and right-handed hitters to produce favorable matchups, but the lefty Fried¡¯s ability to hold down righties and lefties alike made him a tough test. Two of Detroit¡¯s five hits came in lefty-lefty matchups, and seven strikeouts came against right-handed hitters.
The only two Tigers to reach scoring position against Fried were Zach McKinstry on a two-out triple in the fifth and Dillon Dingler on a leadoff double in the seventh. Fried ended both threats with strikeouts, including Javier B¨¢ez and Ryan Kreidler consecutively to close his outing.
¡°You saw him in that seventh inning rear back a bit,¡± Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, ¡°and really see him cut loose with some big-time heaters. Really stepped on and kind of emptied the tank, if you will.¡±
Flaherty kept pace with an array of breaking balls, often playing his curveball off his slider and setting up the fastball. He won a 10-pitch battle against Aaron Judge with a 95 mph heater to strike out the side in the opening inning, then flipped curveballs to fan Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dom¨ªnguez and Ben Rice in the second and third. He stranded the bases loaded in the second inning but needed 29 pitches to do it.
¡°When the other guy's putting up zeroes, it's your job to get the team back in the dugout and send them back out there, keep the game 0-0 for as long as you can,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°I just have to focus on my job and do what I've gotta do.¡±
While the Yankees and Tigers packed to go their separate ways afterwards -- the Yankees back home, the Tigers to Minnesota -- Fried and Flaherty caught up in the hallway between the two clubhouses. After a few hours as competitors, they could go back to being friends.
¡°He did what he was supposed to do,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°He pitched a good game.¡±
Detroit-based writer Steve Kornacki contributed to this story.