Yankees' Fried back early for Pirates twin bill

NEW YORK -- Max Fried will come off the injured list ahead of schedule Wednesday to pitch for the New York Yankees in the second game of their day-night doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The ace left-hander has been sidelined since May 14 because of a left elbow bone bruise and had been lined up to make a second minor league rehab start Wednesday. But after Tuesday's game was postponed because of bad weather, the Yankees announced Gerrit Cole to start the opener of Wednesday's twin bill and slated Fried for Game 2. "That sets us up from a starting standpoint in Philadelphia and beyond," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, looking ahead to his team's weekend series. "Max was way on board with it. I think it makes a ton of sense and we can continue to build him this way." A three-time All-Star, Fried is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 10 starts for New York this season. He tossed three innings last Friday in a rehab outing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Worcester, allowing two runs and five hits with three strikeouts and no walks. He threw 52 pitches, 32 for strikes. The next day, Boone said Fried would make at least one more rehab start in the minors before rejoining the big league rotation. But the Yankees' plans changed when Tuesday night's scheduled game against the Pirates was postponed and set to be made up as part of New York's second doubleheader in a four-day span. The regularly scheduled game begins at 1:05 p.m. and the makeup at 7:05 p.m. "He's ready to go. He's been ready for a while," Boone said. "It's just about getting him built up. So, obviously, he doesn't have a full clip yet." Will Warren had been slated to start Tuesday night against fellow right-hander Bubba Chandler and the Pirates. The Yankees are off Thursday, and Warren will start Friday night's series opener at Philadelphia and be followed Saturday by Cam Schlittler. New York split a day-night doubleheader Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a rainout Saturday night. Chandler will pitch the nightcap Wednesday after Mitch Keller starts Game 1 for Pittsburgh. The Pirates are also off Thursday before a home series against the Chicago Cubs. Fried, 32, went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA over 32 starts in 2025, his first season with the Yankees after leaving Atlanta as a free agent to sign a $218 million, eight-year contract with New York in December 2024. Cole returned to the Yankees on May 22 following reconstructive elbow surgery and the doubleheader marks the first time they are in the rotation at the same time. "We have high hopes this year," Boone said. "Those are two of the big reasons why and hopefully we've got a good run in us with them right in the middle of it."