Harvard-Westlake's World Series Hero Supported By Famous Friends

HOUSTON, TX —Harvard-Westlake High grad Max Fried started and was the winning pitcher in Tuesday's Game 6 of the World Series as his Atlanta Braves clinched the title with a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros. The Braves won the series 4-2.

Supporting Fried in the stands at Houston's Minute Maid Park were two former high school teammates, who just happen to be standout Major League star pitchers themselves - Lucas Giolito of the White Sox and Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals. The trio's former high school coach Matt LaCour, who is now Harvard-Westlake's athletic director, also was in attendance.

Major League Baseball tweeted out a photo of Flaherty and Giolito at the game with the caption "Harvard-Westlake in the building to support high school teammate."

The 27-year-old Fried pitched a gem, tossing six scoreless innings and giving up just four hits.

Ryan Hamill, the agent for all three pitchers, told MLB.com that the trio remain close friends, and have long talked about being in attendance should one of them pitch a big World Series game.

"It was something that we've all kind of discussed, even when these guys were in the minor leagues," Hamill said. "If there are these moments where the guys can all share in the experience, they're like, 'yeah, absolutely, let's do it.' It's pretty cool. They're all really tight, they all pick each other up when they're down. And obviously when moments like this happen, it's good to have that support system."

The trio were high school teammates during the 2012 season at Harvard-Westlake. Giolito, now 27, was a senior and Flaherty, who recently turned 26, was a sophomore. Then, the left-handed Fried transferred in from Montclair College Prep, which had shut down its athletics programs.

According to MLB.com, Giolito ended up injuring his elbow and missing much of the season, and the team was not able to achieve its goal of winning a state title.

But pro scouts remained high on the pitchers, and Fried was the No. 7 overall pick by the Padres in the 2012 MLB Draft, with Giolito going nine picks later to the Nationals. Flaherty was the No. 34 overall selection by the Cardinals in 2014.

The trio all have achieved success early in their careers, and in 2019 they went a combined 42-23 with a 3.36 ERA and 632 strikeouts. Flaherty finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting and Giolito was sixth in the American League Cy Young Award voting that year.

All three pitchers were Opening Day starters this season and were on teams that reached the just- completed postseason, though Flaherty was out with an injury.

"One of the special things about this group of guys is how close they've stayed," LaCour said about the trio. "You know, they have a lot in common. They went to a really tough (high) school that academically pushed them. And they've gone through their minor league baseball careers with ups and downs. They're in the offseason working out together, they have the same agent. So it's pretty gratifying to see these guys support each other."

LaCour continued: "You don't see many times where guys who went to high school achieve the same success and go on in the professional ranks to do these kinds of things. We all know how unique and special it is, so we're going to enjoy it for as long as we can."