00:00Good news is here, Craig, coming up in this second game, they welcome back Max Freed coming off the IL.
00:07Now, you and I recall Max Freed was a shell of himself, it looked like, prior.
00:14I think it was May 16th is when they eventually pulled him and said, bone bruise in his left elbow.
00:22He has not pitched since May 13th.
00:25So when you hear that, but it's Max Freed, it is Max Freed, right?
00:29What kind of expectations should we have?
00:32Pitch count?
00:33Are we happy to get three innings out of it?
00:35What do we think the expectations are for a guy like this?
00:39You know, it was a strange decision, I think, for the Yankees to pitch him in game two, because you
00:43don't know what you're going to get.
00:45So that's a fair point that you bring up with a pitcher that's coming off being out for so long.
00:49But he did make at least, I believe, two appearances in the minor leagues.
00:53Some folks were surprised that it was only two or whatever that number was, and they brought him back quickly.
00:58So, Joe, I think they have to be looking for a little length here today from him.
01:02And I'm not talking about seven innings, but I think five would be reasonable.
01:06I don't think they'll let him get to 100 pitches.
01:08Somewhere between 80 and 90 would be a guess for me.
01:12But, you know, it's funny.
01:12As Freed started off the season, if you remember, and you go back to April in the early part of
01:17May,
01:17and the Cy Young Awards on FanDuel and DraftKings, he was the favorite to win the Cy Young.
01:22And then things went south quick, and then we found out that he was hurt, and Cam Schlittler took over,
01:28and certainly he's been great.
01:29Garrett Cole's been great, too.
01:30But they're going to need Freed, no question.
01:33He's going to be either game two or game three starter in a postseason series.
01:37I think that you would think, you know, Cole probably still gets game one.
01:41Schlittler would get game two, Freed game three, and then Rodon, if they really need him at some point,
01:46maybe he'd start or be in the bullpen.
01:47I'm not really sure.
01:49And some people think the Yankees still need a starting pitcher, too.
01:51Maybe they do, Joe, because counting on health with Rodon and Freed in particular, not very wise.
01:56And Cole, who knows how many innings he could even throw this season after coming off Tommy John surgery.
02:01So I kind of do like the Pirates here.
02:02This is one of those blind faith bets where it is a doubleheader,
02:07and I would expect the Yankees to come back and battle back.
02:10My concern would be the other doubleheader is that the Red Sox are just so hot,
02:13I don't want to get in their way.
02:14But, yeah, I think for me, I would probably take New York in the second part of this doubleheader today.
02:22Yeah, he did.
02:23You're right.
02:24The 17th last week, he pitched three innings in Scranton, two earned runs, no walks, three strikeouts, 52 pitches.
02:31So he had one rehab start, and then they said, well, we kind of need you here.
02:37It'd be great.
02:37So they're bringing him up.
02:39If you can get four innings out of him, five innings, great.
02:44Let's see what happens.
02:45I know they're in a favorable split because as much as Pittsburgh has been crushing the ball,
02:51they've been crushing right-handed pitching more than anything else.
02:55So it'll be interesting to see what they can get here out of him.
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