Fried's return to form spoiled as Yanks' bats get blanked

NEW YORK -- The most encouraging development for the Yankees on Friday night transpired on the mound, where Max Fried shook off an unwelcome squirrel visit and snapped out of his slide to resemble the ace who dominated early in the season.

The left-hander spun six sharp innings in what he called “a good outing to get back on track,” but the Bombers’ cold bats wasted the effort. Brayan Bello limited New York to three hits over seven scoreless frames and the Yankees fell to Boston, 1-0.

“They’re a good team,” Fried said. “They’ve been playing some good baseball. When it comes to Red Sox-Yankees, everyone wants to bring out their best. Everyone’s really just grinding to get a win.”

Since winning their first meeting of the year, the Yankees have dropped seven straight to Boston. Friday’s loss moved New York a half-game behind its rivals for the top American League Wild Card spot.

“I don’t like losing to them,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I don’t like losing to anyone. You never like losing to the Sox. They’ve had our number here for this stretch. We get a chance to change that tomorrow.”

Fried has been effective in a stopper’s role all season (10-1 with a 1.99 ERA in 14 starts immediately following a Yankees loss, entering Friday).

This effort represented his best in weeks, yet he could only match zeroes in a rematch of a June 15 showdown against Bello. The Yankees mustered just four baserunners and could not move any of them into scoring position.

“He was mixing it well,” Jasson Domínguez said of Bello. “We couldn’t get something to give us some momentum.”

Boston broke through in the seventh with back-to-back doubles off Mark Leiter Jr., with Connor Wong driving in Nathaniel Lowe.

Fried picked up a win over the Cardinals in his last start, but matched a career high with seven earned runs allowed over five innings, prompting the veteran to flatly state: “I know that going forward, I have to be way better.”

Viewed as a strong Cy Young Award contender through the season’s first three months, Fried’s fastballs had been hit hard in his previous eight starts, a span over which he pitched to a 6.80 ERA and allowed an .840 opponent OPS.

But Fried had his stuff working against Boston, notching four of his seven strikeouts on curveballs while generating 19 swings and misses overall.

“I feel like a lot of times, I’ve been trying to use the fastball too much,” Fried said. “I just want to get back to throwing a bunch of different pitches in different counts, and being OK with taking some gambles.”

Fried scattered four hits, keeping the ball off the barrel. Boston worked long counts to elevate Fried’s pitch count at 99, and Boone said there was no discussion about sending him back out for the seventh.

“After the fifth, we had the conversation,” Boone said. “It was good to see him finish up efficiently.”

One night after the Yankees committed a season-high four errors, Austin Wells was doubled off on a lineout and the ninth inning featured two questionable throwing decisions.

Anthony Volpe threw to second base on a ground ball, attempting to catch Jarren Duran off the bag, but instead did not record an out.

“It’s obviously not the right play, but it’s a little bit of a heady play, too,” Boone said. “He almost caught a guy off in scoring position there.”

Domínguez admitted making “a mistake” by throwing to third base on a Nathaniel Lowe flyout later in the frame, allowing both runners to tag up.

“I thought I had a chance, but that throw should go to second,” Domínguez said.

Volpe atoned by throwing out Duran at the plate on a fielder’s choice later in the inning, helping David Bednar escape the frame.

But it has been a rough stretch for Volpe, who heard boos after an eighth-inning strikeout, as he owns one hit in his past 25 at-bats.

“He hasn’t swung it great the last week after really getting it going there for a few weeks,” Boone said. “These last two days, I feel like he’s just missed a couple of pitches. … We’ve got to get him going again offensively.”

While they look up at Boston in the standings, the Yankees also trail the Blue Jays by 5 1/2 games in the AL East with 34 left to play. The Yanks are a combined 4-14 against Boston and Toronto this year.

“It’s been tough,” Ben Rice said. “They’ve had our number so far. Now we’ve just got to focus on these next two games and try to split this series.”