Max Fried has been everything the Yankees could have asked for since New York signed him in the offseason, and he almost made history on Easter Sunday.
Fried flirted with a no-hitter against the Rays, pitching a gem as the Yankees defeated Tampa Bay 4-0. However, Fried’s no-hitter was broken up in a controversial manner, as an error was changed to a hit a few innings after the initial ruling.
Here’s a breakdown of how Fried lost his no-hit bid on Sunday.
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Max Fried no-hitter scoring change, explained
In the sixth inning, Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson reached base on a ground ball that went off the heel of Paul Goldschmidt’s glove. Initially, that was ruled an error, the third of the day for New York, allowing Fried’s no-hitter to stay intact.
However, two innings later, that changed. After Fried got through seven innings without allowing a hit, Rays official scorer Bill Matthews changed the error to a hit, claiming it was “very apparent” that Simpson would’ve reached base if Goldschmidt fielded the ball cleanly.
In the official scorer’s estimation, it was “very apparent” Chandler Simpson would have beaten this out if Paul Goldschmidt had handled it cleanly, so it is now a hit. pic.twitter.com/rgAqgdL4Fr
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 20, 2025
The controversy was less about the play and more about the decision to change the call midgame. Simpson, who ESPN’s Jeff Passan dubbed “the fastest man in baseball” likely would have reached regardless of Goldschmidt’s mistake. Had the call been ruled a hit immediately, there would not have been much debate.
Earlier in the game, Goldschmidt and Fried combined to get Simpson on a very similar play, likely playing a role in the initial ruling.
Respect Max Fried’s speed 😤
Fried beats the speedy Chandler Simpson to first base. pic.twitter.com/gXZDgX3bh0
— MLB (@MLB) April 20, 2025
Fried would go on to allow another hit in the game, a single to Jake Mangum to leadoff the eighth, limiting the controversy a bit. Still, Matthews’ decision to change the call before Fried allowed the next hit caused confusion.
According to The Athletic‘s Chris Kirschner, Matthews simply said, “I made a decision,” but he did not take any other questions from the media.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted that he thought Simpson’s ground ball was a hit, but also used the discussion as an opportunity to give his thoughts on scorekeeping around the league.
“I scratch my head at official scorers nightly,” Boone said, per Kirschner. “They throw an error at Yankee Stadium up on the board at Yankee Stadium and then we go to these other places and they can fire up a hit with the best of them.”
Max Fried stats vs. Rays
Fried stifled the Rays to keep his hot start to the season alive. Despite the Yankees defense committing two errors on the game, the lefty starter still went deep into the game to help complete a series victory.
Here’s how Fried performed on the day:
- Innings: 7.2
- Runs: 0
- Hits: 2
- Walks: 2
- HBP: 1
- Strikeouts: 2
Fried also picked off Christopher Morel in the game, helping erase one of the Yankees’ errors. Through five starts, Fried is 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA.
