NEW YORK (AP) — Max Fried threw a cutter that Jon Berti foul tipped, got the ball back from catcher Austin Wells, looked at his left hand and tilted his head with a pained look as he stared into the outfield.
Another blister on his left index finger.
“It was literally just one pitch and I felt it,” Fried said Saturday after the Yankees' 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs, which ended New York's five-game winning streak. “Basically there was no blister and then after the pitch there was a blister.”
A three-time All-Star, the 31-year-old lefty made four trips to the injured list because of blisters on that finger during his time with the Atlanta Braves, going 23 days between starts in 2018, 12 days each in 2019 and ’21, and 18 in 2023, which included a gap between the regular season and playoffs.
Fried threw one pitch with the blister, getting Berti to ground into an inning-ending forceout.
“Every case is it's own thing,” he said. “Definitely didn’t want to do too much where I wanted to catch it, hopefully before it became a real big, big deal. It definitely was uncomfortable enough to the point where I didn’t want to risk more and it was going to affect my pitches. So, yeah, just the next couple of days are going to be big in just being able to evaluate on how long I need.”
After signing a $218 million, eight-year contract as a free agent, Fried is 11-3 with a 2.43 ERA and become the Yankees ace after Gerrit Cole needed Tommy John surgery.
“He's been the one that whenever we’re in trouble or we need a big outing or something he’s been a guy that’s always stepped up for us all season long,” said Aaron Judge, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth to become the fastest player to 350 homers. “You get a little concerned when a guy like that comes out, but I don’t think it’s anything crazy and he’ll be ready to go for second half.”
Because of the All-Star break that starts Monday, Fried will miss fewer games than otherwise. Already an inactive All-Star because of his weekend start, Fried still plans to go to the festivities in Atlanta, where he played from 2017 through last year.
“He’s dealt with it a little bit even this year and been treated pretty well, so we’ll just see how the next days unfold,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Treatment has only a limited impact.
“There’s different creams and modalities and things that we can do to try to help speed up the process but at the end of the day, it’s just letting the skin heal,” Fried said.
He's heard the stories about how future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan soaked his fingers in pickle juice at the behest of Mets athletic trainer Gus Mauch.
“I’ve tried a little of bit everything,” Fried said, "every wives’ tale, every piece of equipment that has been available. I’m willing to try anything to try to just speed it up and try to keep it away.”
Fried has pitched 122 innings and is on track to surpass his career high of 185 1/3 in 2022. He went 9-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 15 starts through June 15, giving up more than two earned runs just once, but has had a 4.33 in his last four outings.
Facing Matt Boyd in a matchup of All-Star lefties, Fried gave up four runs — three earned — six hits and three walks over a season-low three innings. Nine of 18 batters reached base as Fried threw just 39 of 73 pitches for strikes and fell behind with first-pitch balls to nine batters.
Nico Hoerner tripled leading off the game and scored on Kyle Tucker's groundout. Carson Kelly and Ian Happ hit run-scoring singles in the third around Dansby Swanson's RBI grounder.
“I was bad, like I just wasn’t good," Fried said, “not being able to execute pitches and get outs when I needed them.”
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New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes Saturday on a military camp in the port city of Mukalla and other areas where their forces are stationed, as Saudi-backed forces moved to retake the city.
There was no immediate Saudi comment. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed the separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for it.
The Saudi strikes hit Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla in Hadramout, one of two governorates seized last month by the STC, according to the group’s AIC satellite news channel.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But coalition member the United Arab Emirates also supports the separatists, who call for South Yemen to secede again from Yemen.
The latest Saudi strikes came a day after the separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south.
Last month, the STC moved into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out allies of the Saudi-supported National Shield forces, a group in the anti-Houthi coalition.
After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said early Saturday it had pulled out all its forces.
The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition's professed goal of restoring Yemen's internationally recognized government.
An official with the STC told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 100 Saudi airstrikes struck multiple locations across Hadramout over the past 24 hours, resulting in deaths and injuries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
Mukalla residents Ahmed al-Faradi and Salem Maadan told the AP the city was now controlled by the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy and the National Shield forces.
Col. Ahmed Baqatyan, a military commander in the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy, said that striking the Barshid Brigade camp was necessary because it sits on the route to the southern port city of Aden. He said clearing the camp of STC forces was aimed at preventing them from regrouping and launching a return to Mukalla.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with the STC, condemned Saudi airstrikes late Friday it said targeted the international airport in Seiyun, “exposing the airport to serious risks that could damage its infrastructure, hindering its operation and the resumption of flights.”
Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it plans to hold a conference in its capital, Riyadh, to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."
Saudi Arabia was responding to a request for dialogue from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government.
There were no immediate details about the proposed conference.
The anti-Houthi coalition was showing other signs of strain. Clashes erupted on Friday between National Shield forces and the southern forces in Hadramout and their allies, killing at least eight people, paramedic Ahmed al-Ketheri told the AP.
Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE began a military operation against the Houthis a decade ago, the Saudis were interested in controlling the mountains of Saada, while the UAE wanted to capture Aden because of its importance as a gateway to the Red Sea.
Khashan said the situation got out of control in recent weeks when the UAE-backed STC started capturing areas in Hadramout that border the kingdom.
“For the Saudis that was a red line,” Khashan said, adding that the Saudis felt that they were being “held captive between the Houthis in the north and the UAE in the south.” They ”decided to stop the UAE from its regional expansionism," he said.
Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
