This was the Max Fried of April, May and June.

The ace who wouldn’t give an inch to the opposition.

Who was at his best when it was needed.

The Yankees’ struggles persisted on Friday night with a disappointing 1-0 loss against their rivals, the Red Sox, at The Bronx. However, Fried cannot be blamed for the defeat, as he managed to keep them competitive while Brayan Bello delivered a flawless performance.

“I was working both sides of the plate, utilizing all my pitches, and returning to my pitching basics,” Fried explained after the Yankees dropped to a 1-7 record against the Red Sox this season. “It felt like I was over-relying on my fastball at times. I aimed to diversify my pitches, mix up my counts, and wasn’t afraid to take some risks.”

The southpaw allowed just four singles across six shutout innings while striking out seven.

He retired phenom Roman Anthony all three times he faced him. Each at-bat, there were runners on base as well.

Fried threw seven different pitches against the Red Sox, and none of them more than 26 times.

He cut back on his usage of the cut fastball, throwing it on just 14 occasions. That was by design.

“My focus was on utilizing the entire plate and varying speeds, which are my strengths,” he added. “Often, I found myself cornered, relying excessively on the cutter. I just wanted to alter my approach slightly. It was a good adjustment. It felt effective. It was rewarding to keep the team in contention.”

The only negative to Fried’s outing was his pitch count was so high — 99 after six innings — he couldn’t go deeper into the game.

That was mostly the result of three walks.

But that’s nitpicking for a pitcher who had struggled so much of late.

In three previous August starts, Fried had allowed 15 earned runs over 15 innings, a 9.00 ERA. He wasn’t much better in July, pitching to a 5.54 ERA.

Maybe this is a start for Fried as September nears.

The Yankees need this version of him moving forward.

“I felt like everything was a factor for him tonight, which was good to see,” manager Aaron Boone said. “His entire arsenal played a role for him. He was really off the barrel all night.”