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.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.
Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.
By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.
“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”
Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.
It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.
Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.
Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.
“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.
Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.
The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.
Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.
When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.
Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.
“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”
Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.
“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”
And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.
Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.
Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.
While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.
Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.
Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.
“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
