New York Yankees starter Max Fried got two wins on Wednesday night, with the second one coming as a result of his 6.1 scoreless innings in a 7-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the first game of the 2026 MLB regular season.
After his masterful performance on the mound, Fried got to “eat a W” with New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston.
Winston was in attendance as part of the Netflix crew for the streamer’s first-ever MLB broadcast. He has been using the “eat the W” celebration for wins throughout his football career.
Even though Fried didn’t have his best stuff against the Giants, in addition to not getting any contribution from Aaron Judge (0-for-5 with four strikeouts), he told reporters after the game those are indications that the Yankees are capable of a big season.
“This team led the league in runs scored last year, and we have a lot of the same guys back,” Fried said. “One through nine can beat you.”
The three-time All-Star admitted he was “searching” to get his stuff working throughout the game.
“Definitely was searching,” Fried said, “but when the guys go out there and put up five runs in the second, it allows you to take a deep breath and get into the game. When you have a five-run lead you have a little more room for error.”
It’s a testament to how good Fried is that he felt like he wasn’t that effective and still allowed just two hits in the game. The Yankees put up seven runs without hitting a homer. Judge, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice combined to go 2-for-14 with eight strikeouts.
Fried is still learning proper “eat the W” ettiquete, but this wasn’t bad for a first-time performance. Time will tell if he makes it a regular part of his postgame celebrations after Yankee wins.