Max Fried pounded in ALDS Game 2 loss as Yankees’ pitching crumbles vs. Blue Jays again

All year long, Max Fried was the Yankees’ stopper.

In 16 regular-season starts that followed a Yankees loss, Fried went 11-1 with a 1.82 ERA. The Yankees won 12 of those games.

But Fried faltered Sunday in Game 2 of the ALDS, delivering his worst start in nearly two months in a 13-7 loss to Toronto Blue Jays that left the Yankees on the brink of elimination.

The Blue Jays tagged Fried for seven runs in 3+ innings at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, rallying for eight hits and two walks against the Yankees’ ace.

The Yankees had hoped to even the ALDS behind Fried after their 10-1 loss in Game 1. Instead, they return to the Bronx in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five series.

“They obviously had a really good approach,” Fried said. “They were on a lot of my pitches. Credit to them, I didn’t get it done. It’s frustrating, especially coming out in a game like this.”

With the back-to-back blowout losses, the Yankees set dubious franchise history. The 23 runs are the most the Yankees have ever allowed over a two-game span in the playoffs.

Sunday’s barrage began when Fried surrendered a two-run home run to Ernie Clement — a native of Rochester, N.Y. — in the second inning.

The top-seeded Blue Jays remained relentless in the third with a run-scoring groundout by Alejandro Kirk, an RBI double by Daulton Varsho and an RBI single by Clement.

Fried exited the game without recording an out in the fourth, and his final two baserunners scored when Will Warren served up a grand slam to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

“[Fried] didn’t seem to have the same command,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Probably not getting pitches to where he wanted to get them. Life and everything seemed fine. They obviously had some hard contact. They were able to find some holes with their contact. Just not his sharpest.”

It was a far cry from Fried’s recent run of excellence, as the left-hander entered Sunday with a 6-0 record and a 1.37 ERA over his previous eight starts, including the postseason.

“I pride myself on being able to change speeds and keep guys off-balance,” Fried said. “And they weren’t off-balance today.”

Warren, a rookie starter operating out of the bullpen, wasn’t much better, as he gave up six runs in 4.2 innings.

“That’s the spot that he’s got a chance to be successful in, to keep it a game there,” Boone said of replacing Fried with Warren. “We’re going to take our shot there with Will. It’s already [5-0 with two] runners out there. He’s on this team for that.”

Warren allowed four home runs, including one to George Springer and two to Varsho. The Blue Jays totaled five homers on Sunday and boast eight through the first two games of the series.

The Yankees trailed 12-0 after five innings.

The 23 runs scored by Toronto are the most ever by a team in its first two games of a postseason, while the 20 runs the Blue Jays scored in between Yankee runs in Games 1 and 2 also set a playoff record.

Fried, 31, went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in the regular season, his first since joining the Yankees on an eight-year, $218 million contract.

In his first postseason start as a Yankee last week, Fried hurled 6.1 scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the Wild Card round. Fried took a no-decision in that game, however, as the Yankees’ bullpen blew a one-run lead after he exited.

Fried, who starred for the Atlanta Braves in their clinching game of the 2021 World Series, now has a 5.31 ERA in 22 postseason appearances, including 14 starts.

Sunday’s game was the second in a row in which the Yankees’ starter failed to give them length, as Luis Gil lasted only 2.1 innings in Game 1.

The early exits by Gil and Fried required the Yankees’ bullpen to get a total of 32 outs on Saturday and Sunday, and that’s without either game requiring a bottom of the ninth.

The Yankees now turn to Carlos Rodón for Game 3 on Tuesday night to keep their season alive. Rodón went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA in the regular season, then took a no-decision after allowing three runs in 6+ innings in Game 2 of the Wild Card round.

Shane Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, is set to start for the Blue Jays.

“We’re going home,” Warren said. “They’re coming to our place, and it’s going to be different. We’re a good team. We know we have to do. Just handle business at home.”