Max Fried continues to be backbone to Yankees’ rotation

The Yankees entered play with the second-worst rotation ERA in baseball (5.17), a group that has been so shaky its second-best performer statistically is Will Warren — who owns a 5.14 ERA. 

The lone and needed saving grace: its best performer. 

Max Fried again pitched like the $218 million man that he is in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Royals in The Bronx, the Yankees moving three games over .500 and 4-for-4 in Fried outings. 

The Yankees have needed Fried to step up now because everyone else has stumbled.

Carlos Rodón has continually missed in high-leverage situations, allowing a tied-for-league-high five home runs.

He is tied with Carlos Carrasco, who himself has a 5.94 ERA.

Marcus Stroman took an 11.57 ERA with him to the injured list, with Clarke Schmidt set to plug the hole Wednesday. 

The club has needed Fried to assert himself early, and the lefty is impressing with his timing both macro and micro. 

What has become clear to fans watching him regularly for a first time is Fried knows when to put his foot on the gas and knows when to ease off the pedal. 

With one out and Salvador Perez on third base in the fourth, Fried — already trailing 2-0 because of struggles an inning prior — took something off a four-seamer, the 93.5 mph heater getting Hunter Renfroe to foul out.

A batter later, he used a 96.3 mph fastball to get ahead of MJ Melendez, who soon after grounded out on a sweeper as Fried escaped danger. 

“Just understanding that hitting is timing,” said Fried, whose fastballs ranged from 93-97 mph and whose ERA is at 1.88. “It’s rhythm and timing, and if you can try to disrupt that and throw a couple different speeds on a fastball, hopefully you can get some weak contact and get some extra outs.” 

The Royals only got to Fried in the third, when Melendez homered, and Maikel Garcia reached on a swinging bunt and scored on a Bobby Witt Jr. double.

Otherwise, they went 0-for-4 against Fried with runners in scoring position, opponents 3-for-24 (.125) when runners are on second and/or third base against him. 

His fastballs, both four-seamers and sinkers, change speeds.

The rest of his arsenal — sweepers, changeups, cutters and curveballs that were particularly sharp Tuesday — all bend.

It is tough to time a pitcher who might be throwing 97 mph and might be throwing 72 mph. 

“I’ll turn to Brad [Ausmus, the bench coach],” manager Aaron Boone said, “I’ll be like, ‘Man, I would not like to hit off this guy.’” 

Fried was strong for 6 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed those two runs on five hits with two walks and was pulled with two on in the seventh, a frame saved by a running catch from Trent Grisham and an escape from Luke Weaver. 

So he did receive some help, and ever since Gerrit Cole went down, Fried has said his mindset does not change given the state of the rotation around him. 

“It’s not all up to me to shoulder everything out on the mound,” Fried said, even if he is squarely carrying the load for the rotation.