The Yankees will face the Pirates in a doubleheader on Wednesday after their scheduled Tuesday game was postponed due to weather conditions. The matchup will feature prominent pitching talent, with Gerrit Cole, a former Cy Young award winner, slated to start the first game and All-Star lefty Max Fried taking the mound for the second contest.
Fried’s return marks a significant development for New York’s rotation. The pitcher has been sidelined since May 16 due to a bone bruise in his left elbow and has not appeared in a major-league game since May 13. His assignment to Wednesday’s game represents an acceleration of his timeline, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone had indicated earlier in the day that Fried would require one additional minor-league rehabilitation start before rejoining the active roster. Fried completed only one rehab appearance, allowing two runs on five hits across three innings on 52 pitches.
Fried arrives to the mound with a strong track record. During the previous season, he compiled a 19-5 record with a 2.86 ERA across 32 starts, finishing fourth in American League Cy Young voting in his inaugural campaign with the Yankees. This season prior to his injury, he posted a 4-3 record with a 3.21 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through 10 starts, recording 50 strikeouts against 19 walks in 61⅔ innings.
Wednesday’s doubleheader will mark the first occasion that both Fried and Cole occupy the Yankees’ active roster simultaneously. Cole missed all of 2025 following Tommy John surgery and returned to pitching action on May 22 of this season, approximately one week after Fried sustained his injury. The Yankees also count All-Star Cam Schlittler among their rotation options and anticipate Carlos Rodón’s return from the injured list in the coming weeks, with Will Warren and Ryan Weathers providing additional depth. The team entered the doubleheader at 56-44, trailing the Rays by 1.5 games in the AL East standings.
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