New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles: Max Fried vs. Trey Gibson

The month of May has typically been kind to the Bronx Bombers in the Aaron Boone era. It’s early, but May 2026 has begun similarly. New York’s bats feasted on Orioles starting pitching the first two games of this series, grabbing five runs against both Cade Povich and Kyle Bradish. That’s typically a good formula for winning games, and win they have. Today they’ll get the benefit of their ace on their mound while facing a prospect making his MLB debut. On paper, they’re in good shape to win this unusual four-game wraparound series.

Fried was his typical excellent self on Monday in Arlington, throwing six scoreless innings against the Rangers, scattering four hits and two walks. Today’s game will mark his 40th start as a member of the Bronx Bombers—his first 39 have added up to a 2.71 ERA across 242.2 innings with 226 strikeouts to just 85 walks. I think he was a pretty good signing.

Max faced the Orioles twice last year, and the second start was among the finest of his career: a seven-inning scoreless masterpiece on September 18th in which he struck out 13 batters. Of course, the O’s now have Pete Alonso in the heart of their lineup; a player with plenty of experience facing Fried from their shared time in the NL East. Neither player really has the upper hand in the head-to-head matchup: Alonso’s hit to a .738 OPS in 42 at-bats.

Trey Gibson is the Orioles’ No. 3 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, thrust into duty as usual starters Dean Kremer (nursing a quad strain) and Trevor Rogers (under the weather) can’t go. Gibson, a 2023 undrafted free agent from Yorktown, Virginia, has pitched to a 4.01 ERA in six starts at Triple-A Norfolk and has a similar 3.99 mark throughout his MiLB career. Considering that Gibson signed as a UDFA, he’s already been a big developmental success for Baltimore. He has a tough task ahead of him today, facing a Yankee lineup that has been in a groove, averaging just a hair under six runs per game over the past two weeks. Be on the lookout for Gibson’s trademark slider, known as the “death ball” for its tendency to break sharply downward.

There’s only one lineup change to report from Saturday’s game: Austin Wells draws back in at catcher for Escarra, who went 1-for-4 yesterday.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES | MASN

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, 98 Rock 97.9 FM, WBAL 1090 AM

Online stream: MLB.tv

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