New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried is still seeking his first win since April, following an outing characterized by inefficiency in the team's 10-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. Fried, who has been battling a bone bruise in his left elbow, allowed one run and one hit with seven strikeouts but struggled with his pitch count, throwing only 48 of 80 pitches for strikes. He was removed from the game in the fourth inning.

"They saw a lot of pitches, they were having some good at-bats and not chasing," Fried said. "I felt like I was getting ahead, then throwing some non-competitive pitches. … It was just a weird outing where I was executing in certain counts, but I also had a lot of bad misses that caused a lot of deep counts. Going 80 pitches and not getting through four [innings] is not ideal."

This marked Fried's third start since returning from the injured list for the second time this season. In those three starts, he has allowed one run in each outing, totaling 12 ⅔ innings. The lone run surrendered Thursday was a 431-foot home run by Colorado's Kyle Karros.

Fried, who threw 63 pitches in his first start back and 72 in his previous outing, showed flashes of his early-season Cy Young form, striking out four consecutive batters. However, he also exhibited some rust, walking the leadoff hitter in his final two innings pitched.

Fried's record now stands at 4-4 with a 2.73 ERA. He has not earned a win in his last 11 starts, with his last victory coming on April 27. This contrasts with his 19-5 record from the previous season. Despite the lack of wins, he has allowed fewer than two runs in his last five consecutive starts.

"I'm feeling good, liking the progress so far, hitting my marks," Fried stated. "I felt like I could've definitely stayed in that game and kept going … I'm just gonna keep building."

The Yankees, who secured the win with contributions from other players, are looking for Fried, who owns the largest contract ever awarded to a left-handed pitcher, to be fully built up for the postseason. Fried expressed confidence in the team's plan for his development.

"We're looking forward to having me being completely built up for the end of the season and the playoffs," Fried said. "They've had a plan. As much as I would love to fast-forward the plan and just say, ‘Let’s throw it all out the window,’ they’ve got a lot of really smart people here who work really hard to try to make sure I’m gonna be healthy for when it matters most."