The New York Yankees have scored the second-most runs in baseball through the first 12 games of the season as the offense is off to a scorching-hot start. While the team’s production at the plate has led the way early on, starting pitcher Max Fried stepped up on Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers.

Fried dominated in his third start for New York. He tossed seven shutout innings, allowing five hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts, per the Yankees’ official account on X.

The ninth-year starter out-dueled Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty, who went to high school with Fried in Los Angeles, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. Flaherty threw 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. Fried and the Yankees came out on top, winning 4-3 on Wednesday.

“Just a big-time performance for us to salvage a win in this series. He was the catalyst,” manager Aaron Boone said of Fried, per the Daily News. “What I like is he loves the competition. Like he relishes that opportunity. When you’re really good, like he is, there’s a reason for that, but he likes being in the fire out there. He likes competing. He’s got so many different ways to beat you, and it’s just a big-time performance there.”

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After starting the season 6-2 the Yankees had a three-game losing streak entering Wednesday’s game. New York had lost the first two matchups of the three-game series against the Tigers. But Fried delivered his strongest performance of the season to get the Yankees back in the win column.

New York signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract this offseason. The team pivoted to enhancing its starting rotation after losing right fielder Juan Soto in free agency. And the Yankees will be relying heavily on Fried this year in the wake of Gerrit Cole’s season-ending Tommy John surgery and the loss of Luis Gil for several months.

While the spate of injuries lowered expectations for the team, with one MLB insider predicting the Yankees would suffer their first losing season since 1992, New York’s offense has kept the club competitive.

Aaron Judge has been on a tear. He leads the majors in home runs (6) and RBI (20). He’s slashing .354/.446/.792 through 12 games this season.

New York is now 7-5 and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for first-place in the AL East. After Wednesday’s strong performance, Fried is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in three starts as a Yankee.