DENVER (AP) — Max Fried threw 7 1/3 sharp innings and the New York Yankees broke open a tight game with a 10-run fifth to beat the reeling Colorado Rockies 13-1 on Saturday.
Fried (7-0) tied Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt for the major league lead in wins. The Yankees lefty scattered six hits and gave up one run in an efficient outing in which he only tossed 83 pitches. Fried has allowed two earned runs or less in all 11 of his starts this season.
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New York Yankees' Paul Goldschmidt singles against Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Fans applaud as New York Yankees' Aaron Judge circles the bases after hitting a solo home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland calls for a new ball after giving up a solo home run to New York Yankees' Aaron Judge in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, left, confers with starting pitcher Max Fried, right, after Fried gave up an RBI triple to Colorado Rockies' Michael Toglia in the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge heads back to the dugout after touching home plate following his solo home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A game tied at 1 turned into a rout when the Yankees got the offense cranked up in the fifth. They sent 14 to the plate in collecting seven hits, drawing three walks — one intentional to Aaron Judge — producing two sacrifice flies and reaching on starter Kyle Freeland’s throwing error.
The big blows were a pair of two-run doubles from Austin Wells and Trent Grisham. At one point, second baseman Adael Amador threw his glove in the air to try to thwart Paul Goldschmidt's RBI single over his head.
The inning ended on a strikeout of Judge, who hit his 18th homer — tied with Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber for the most in the majors — in the first inning. The Yankees had a season-high 21 hits.
Freeland (0-7) allowed eight runs — four earned — over 4 2/3 innings. He has gone 14 straight starts without a win.
The Rockies fell to 9-43, the worst record through 52 games since 1901. They beat the Yankees 3-2 on Friday and still have a chance to win their first series of the season with a victory Sunday.
The 10-run inning matched the biggest frame this season for the Yankees, who also scored that many in the seventh against San Diego on May 6.
The Yankees are 6-10 all-time at Coors Field.
Yankees righty Will Warren (3-2, 4.05) throws Sunday, while the Rockies turn to righty Antonio Senzatela (1-8, 6.34).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Yankees' Paul Goldschmidt singles against Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Fans applaud as New York Yankees' Aaron Judge circles the bases after hitting a solo home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland calls for a new ball after giving up a solo home run to New York Yankees' Aaron Judge in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, left, confers with starting pitcher Max Fried, right, after Fried gave up an RBI triple to Colorado Rockies' Michael Toglia in the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge heads back to the dugout after touching home plate following his solo home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Attallah Tarazi recently received Christmas presents that included socks and a scarf to shield him against the Gaza winter, and he joined some fellow Palestinian Christians in a round of hymns.
“Christ is born,” the group sang in Arabic. “Hallelujah.”
The presents and hymns offered the 76-year-old a taste of the holiday in a devastated Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire has provided some relief, but the losses of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing struggles of displaced people are dampening many traditional festivities.
Tarazi and much of the rest of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community are trying to capture some of the season’s spirit despite the destruction and uncertainty that surround them. He clings to hope and the faith that he said has seen him through the war.
“I feel like our joy over Christ's birth must surpass all the bitterness that we’ve been through," he said. He's been sheltering for more than two years at the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza, where a church group including choir members toured among displaced people this Christmas season, he said.
“In such a glorious moment, it’s our right to forget all that’s war, all that’s danger, all that's bombardment."
But for some, the toll is inescapable.
This will be the first Christmas for Shadi Abo Dowd since the death of his mother, who was among those killed in July when an Israeli attack hit the same Catholic church compound where Tarazi lives and which has been housing displaced people. Israel issued statements of regret and said it was an accident.
Abo Dowd said his son was wounded in the assault that also hurt the parish priest.
Ahead of Christmas, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, paid a visit to the Holy Family Parish. A patriarchate statement said the visit marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations in "a community that has lived and continues to live through dark and challenging times.”
Abo Dowd, an Orthodox Christian who observes Christmas on Jan. 7, said he does not plan to celebrate beyond religious rituals and prayers. “There’s no feast,” he said.
“Things are difficult. The wound is still there," he said. “The suffering and pain are still there.”
He added: "We’re still living in a state of no peace and no war."
Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October, but deadly attackshave not entirely ended. Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of breaking the truce and the more challenging second phase has yet to be implemented.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has also caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of the territory’s some 2 million residents. Highlighting some of the many struggles and needs of the enclave and its people was torrential rain that recently flooded displacement camps and collapsed already badly damaged buildings.
“I always tell my children, ‘God only gives the toughest battles to his strongest soldiers,’" Abo Dowd said. “We’re holding onto our Christian faith and onto our country, and we love our country."
He and others know of many Christians among those who fled Gaza during the war and more who hope to leave if given the opportunity. He worries about the effect on the Christian presence and on Gaza’s social fabric. “It's a tragedy,” he said.
His children would like to study abroad. “They're young. What will they stay to do? There's no future."
The departure of many relatives and friends means Christmas doesn’t feel the same for 23-year-old Wafa Emad ElSayegh.
He and family members gathered with others at Gaza’s Greek Orthodox church compound to put up decorations. But the absence of friends who escaped Gaza fueled his nostalgia.
“We used to be together in everything,” said ElSayegh, who’s now staying with his family at the home of an aunt who left Gaza during the war.
His favorite part of Christmas was the togetherness — the family gatherings, the celebratory events that he said drew Christians and some Muslims, and the excitement of children receiving gifts.
“There would be celebrations, songs and an indescribable joy that we, unfortunately, haven’t felt in a long time,” he said. And with many relatives away, he said the usual Christmas atmosphere cannot be recreated.
Elynour Amash, 35, is trying to bring some of that cheer to her children “through decorating and lighting the tree so they can feel that joy is possible despite all pain."
“My children feel a little bit of joy, like breathing after a long period of suffocation,” she said in written responses to The Associated Press. “They’re happy they’re celebrating without fear of a nearby explosion and because some chocolates and sweets have returned to their lives, in addition to foods that they had long been deprived of.”
She's thankful her home is still standing, but the scenes of displaced people in tents that cannot shield them from the cold and rain often drive her to tears.
She doesn’t feel like the war has truly ended.
“The sounds of explosions and gunfire can still be heard, and the fear hasn’t left the hearts. There’s continuous worry that the ceasefire won't last.” She sees the toll in her youngest, who trembles when he hears loud noises.
“It’s as if the war lives inside of him," she said. "As a mother, that pain is indescribable."
She also worries that someday Christians could disappear from Gaza. But, for now, “our presence, no matter how small, is a testimony of love, steadfastness and faith in this land,” she said.
Tarazi is determined to stay.
Early in the war, he lost a sister, who was among those killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the Orthodox church compound housing displaced people. The Israeli military said it had targeted a nearby Hamas command center. Tarazi said a brother also died after he could not get needed medical care due to the war.
He prays for peace and freedom for the Palestinian people. “Our faith and our joy over Christ's birth are stronger than all circumstances,” he said.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, second left, leads a mass ahead og Christmass celebrations at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians parishioners attend a mass led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Children and nuns gather outside the Holy Family Catholic Church before attending a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, poses for the photos with Palestinian parishioners after leading a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
