Yanks Top Sox Again (4-1)

by Andrew Hefner

April 23, 2026

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The Big Story

The New York Yankees entered Fenway on Wednesday with a four-game win streak and the sole possession of first place in the American League East despite a rough stretch during the two weeks prior. Luckily for them, the comeback continued as an early boost of offense from one of the hottest up-and-coming players (no, not who you are thinking of) set up a Max Fried masterclass in Boston for a 4-1 win. 

Aaron Judge got the party started in the first with an early walk-off of Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez, who signed a huge five-year, $130 million deal with Boston in the offseason. Suarez's night only got worse as the first rolled on, as the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton doubled before the signing of the year, Amed Rosario, smacked a ball clear over the monster in right field for a three-run homer. 

The next, and final run of the game for the Yankees came also off the bat of Rosario as a Judge single and another Stanton double set up a sacrifice fly to bring in the fourth run for New York in the third.

Suarez regrouped after the early struggles and finished his night after 4.2 innings of work, four earned runs, and four strikeouts. Out of the pen for the Red Sox was Zack Kelly, who pitched one inning of scoreless ball before 22-year-old Eduardo Rivera came out of the pen to make his major league debut. Rivera had made two starts in AA this season before being called up and rounded out the final 3.1 innings for the Red Sox, only surrendering one hit and picking up three strikeouts. 

On the flip side, the Yankees did not need to make their call to the bullpen until the ninth as Fried hit 100 pitches in the eighth after his tenth strikeout of the night. Fried picked up his third win on the season and improved his record to 3-1. Brent Headrick was the reliever for the ninth and struggled a bit, allowing the Sox to manufacture a run driven in by Jaren Duran before he picked up the final out.

Also sprinkled throughout last night were incredible defensive showings by the Yankees' infield as Ryan McMahon made a full-extension grab and an incredible throw from foul territory in back-to-back innings to help Fried make his way through his eight innings of work. Jose Caballero also made a slick sliding play to end the game. 

Player of the Game:

Although this honor certainly could fall upon Amed Rosario, Max Fried just had the best outing of the young season for him and shut down the Red Sox for eight innings. He is still the best ace the Yankees could ask for and was lights out on Wednesday. 

Final Line: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Notable Performances 

Aaron Judge: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R 

Amed Rosario: 1-1, 1 HR, 4 RBI 

Giancarlo Stanton: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R

Randal Grichuk: 1-2, 1 H

Better to Forget

Austin Wells: 0-3, K

Jazz Chisholm: 0-4, K

Paul Goldschmidt: 0-4, 2K 

My Take 

Much of my day yesterday was consumed by reading the insane takes regarding a potential Yankees road alternate uniform that have been swirling around the internet, so I was happy to actually take in some Yankees baseball and judge the play on the field rather than that of the decisions the front office chooses to make. Fried was as advertised, if not way better, as he shut down the Red Sox in a big way and continues to solidify himself as the ace going forward, even with Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole making their way back from injury. 

Giancarlo Stanton is still incredible at Fenway and added on to his big game one with two doubles to help manufacture big runs for the Yankees. Judge also scored runs on both of Rosario’s RBIs and has been continuing to get better and better at the top of the lineup. Rosario is such an incredible asset to have grabbed over the offseason, as he can help fix the infield problems the Yankees have been having while providing an actual solid bat in clutch situations and tough matchups. 

One thing I noticed was just some uncertainty from Headrick during his inning of work, as misplaced pitches really shot him in the foot and allowed Boston to finally get on the board in the final frame. 

I think Goldschmidt also needs to be pulled from that leadoff spot, as he was shaky the whole night, and I still think that pulling Rice, even in a lefty-lefty matchup, is just not as beneficial as Boone thinks it is. Goldy resigned, knowing he would have very limited playing time, and with Rice playing beyond anyone’s expectations, he 100% can be pushed to the side. 

Next Up

The Yankees will continue their series and look for the sweep of the weekday slate tonight with the young flamethrower Cam Schlittler, with the Red Sox starter yet to be announced as of writing. The game will be at 6:10 EST on the YES Network and Fox.