Opening Day is in the books and it couldn’t have gone much better for the Yankees. It was a bit of a throwback game as the Yankees scored seven runs without the ball leaving the yard, the hitters aggressive early in counts to collect ten base hits. Any time you can score seven runs when Aaron Judge strikes out four times, you know you’ve got a strong supporting cast around the Captain. Max Fried turned in a faultless 6.1 scoreless innings as the Yankees kicked off their season with a 7-0 win over the Giants.
First pitch was delayed by 20 minutes with all the on-field festivities, and the Yankees hitters were also slow coming out of the gate, Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge striking out swinging and Cody Bellinger popping out to left. Max Fried got himself into a spot of trouble in the bottom-half, issuing a leadoff four-pitch walk to noted non-walker Luis Arraez. Matt Chapman then just beat out the throw to first to avoid the double play on his groundball, and advanced to third on a Rafael Devers shallow fly ball to center that Trent Grisham lost in the sun and got a late jump — the bloop carrying a 95-percent catch probability according to Statcast. However, Fried buckled down, collecting his first strikeout of the year by blowing a 95 mph cutter by Willy Adames and getting Jung Hoo Lee to ground out.
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After falling behind early in the count to Webb’s aggression in the zone with sinkers and changeups, the whole Yankees lineup made the necessary adjustment in the second. They began hunting first pitches that left Webb’s hand aimed at the glove-side edge of the plate, relying on the arm-side movement to carry it into the path of their bats. Giancarlo Stanton collected the first hit of the Yankees’ season with a one-out line drive single up the middle, followed swiftly by a Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit-by-pitch on a first-pitch sinker. With runners on first and second, José Caballero lined a 1-1 hanging sweeper down the line to left, plating Stanton for the first run of the campaign and advancing Jazz to third. Ryan McMahon drove both runners home on a ground ball single that just evaded Luis Arraez’s outstretched glove, and in just eight pitches the Yankees had a 3-0 lead. Austin Wells jumped on a first pitch changeup down the middle for a line drive single to center, an approach which also worked for Grisham as he clobbered a fly ball into triples alley in right-center to plate McMahon and Wells — the Yankees’ first Opening Day triple since Johnny Damon in 2009. One of the most consistent starters in baseball, this was the first time Webb has given up five runs in an inning since 2023.
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Maybe it was just Opening Day first inning adrenaline that caused Fried to spray a bunch of his opening cutters high and glove-side, because he found his groove in the second. He struck out three in the frame sandwiched around a Casey Schmitt HBP, all three strikeouts coming on the fastball. There wasn’t as much swing-and-miss in the third facing the top of the order for a second time, but he nonetheless retired them in order inducing a pair of ground outs. The final baserunner he allowed was a two-out single from Heliot Ramos in the fourth.
The Yankees put a pair on in the fourth as McMahon drew a one-out walk and Wells singled to right, but a Grisham fly out and Judge strikeout stranded them in place. However, the traffic they created in the fifth did bear fruit. Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Giancarlo Stanton opened the frame with three straight singles, Stanton’s driving Bellinger home as the game’s sixth run. Jazz then appeared to ground into a potential double play, but a throwing error from Willy Adames that hit Jazz and bounced away from the first baseman allowed Rice to score all the way from second.
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Webb would finish the inning, but that was it for the 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up. New Giants manger Tony Vitello left his ace in to eat it, which isn’t entirely indefensible considering he found a bit of effectiveness in the third and fourth and has to build up his pitch count. However, the seven runs on nine hits was the most runs he has given up in a start since July 10, 2024.
Keaton Winn was the first reliever out of the Giants’ bullpen, and he stuck a feather in his cap by striking out Judge. The lone blemish on an otherwise faultless night, Judge went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. It’s the first time a reigning MVP has worn the golden sombrero on Opening Day and Judge’s first four-strikeout game since September 28, 2024. In a way, though, the captain having a quiet night is a gift in disguise as it reinforces that the Yankees offense is still capable of scoring a lot of runs even when their leader doesn’t hit on that particular day.
Fried continued to cruise in the middle innings, which came as a double blessing considering commissioner Rob Manfred joined the broadcast booth in the fifth. Fried worked a quick 1-2-3 inning to spare us from listening to too much of his conceited drivel. That wasn’t the only notable booth guest interaction, Barry Bonds joining in the sixth to share an alleged story of George Steinbrenner sabotaging a deal to sign the all-time home run king in 1993.
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The contact against Fried started to get a little louder in the sixth despite him working a 1-2-3 frame. That coupled with him still not being fully built up to a complete workload likely explained Boone removing his starter at just 86 pitches with one out into the seventh. It’s hard to ask for much more from your Opening Day starter, Fried tossing 6.1 scoreless innings allowing just two hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts, the southpaw retiring 18 of the final 20 batters he faced.
The Yankees’ final chance to pad their lead came in the seventh, Rice drawing a leadoff walk and advancing to second on a Jazz single off former Yankee JT Brubaker, but the righty got Caballero to bounce into the inning-ending double play. Jake Bird was the first Yankees reliever out of the ‘pen and he collected the final two outs of the seventh. Brent Headrick worked around an Arraez single and Chapman walk with two outs to turn in a scoreless eighth. Camilo Doval nullified a Caballero fielding error to open the ninth by retiring the final three batters to end the game, 7-0.
The Yankees have the day off tomorrow before getting back to action on Friday. Cam Schlittler earns the start coming off his electric rookie cameo, and faces 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, who earned the second All-Star nod of his career last season. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 pm ET with the broadcast moving over to YES.
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