Yankees need strong seasons from Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole to win the AL East
Bob Nightengale breaks down concerns about the Yankees’ pitching staff and New York’s place in the AL East.
SAN FRANCISCO — The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season opened Wednesday night as the San Francisco Giants hosted the New York Yankees at Oracle Park.
It was all New York and it was all a game.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 40,856 in the Bay Area on MLB Opening Day, the Yankees defeated the Giants 7-0.
The game was the first for new Giants manager Tony Vitello, who took over in October after seven seasons as coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Yankees got better from the second inning, scoring five runs on five hits. In this game, Giancarlo Stanton had 2 hits and 1 RBI on 4 at bats, Austin Wells had 2 hits on 3 at bats and 2 RBIs, and Ryan McMahon had 2 RBIs. Trent Grisham drove in two runs and Jose Caballero added an RBI.
The only Yankees player not to record a hit was reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, who had four strikeouts in the opening game.
It was a tough game for Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb. Webb threw 86 pitches, 58 strikes, over five innings and had seven strikeouts. He allowed nine hits, seven runs, six earned runs, and one walk to batters.
Opening Day marked the regular season debut of MLB’s new automatic ball-and-strike (ABS) system, which allows players to attempt balls and strikes.
This is how the opener unfolds.
The Yankees were hitless until the 8th inning. Brubaker struck out McMahon, Wells flew to center field, and Grisham grounded out to second base.
The same thing happened with the Giants. In the 8th inning, he got a hit off Arraez, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest in MLB. Chapman arrived first on foot, but that was about it for San Francisco. Devers, who followed Chapman to the plate, ended the inning with a fly to center field.
In the 7th inning, JT Brubaker took the mound. He struck out Stanton. Brubaker allowed only one hit, a single by Chisholm. Caballero then grounded out into a double play and Chisholm was out at second base. Jake Byrd of the Yankees started in place of Max Fried, who pitched 6.1 innings with four strikeouts and allowed just two hits.
Giants fans weren’t able to cheer much throughout the game. San Francisco’s biggest highlight was striking out current AL MVP Aaron Judge four times through six innings.
Webb had him three times last time, but after the fifth time he was shut out for the night.
Keaton Wynn replaced Judge in the top of the 6th inning and struck out Judge. This is something to be proud of for San Francisco, except they didn’t have much to be happy about.
In the bottom of the 6th inning, Chapman, Devers, and Adames were all together to advance to the 7th inning.
The Yankees second baseman displayed quick reflexes to get Chapman out. Chisholm caught a line drive that was coming towards him. He made the first catch with his glove and then with his bare hands.
Cody Bellinger warmed up in the fifth inning with a single to right field. Rice then singled, helping to set up an RBI single from Stanton. He hit one to center field, paving the way for Bellinger to head home. Chisholm grounded out to first base, but Willie Adames’ throw error and Schmidt’s errant grab allowed Rice to score.
History was made in the fourth inning. The first-ever ABS challenge was initiated by Yankees shortstop Jose Caballero. he lost. The referee upheld the decision. But it was short-lived and sadly, the ABS finally kicked in.
Apparently, live viewers watching on Netflix missed the replay of the first ABS Challenge because the broadcast included an in-game interview with new Giants manager Tony Vitello.
Despite Heriot Ramos’ single to right field in the fourth inning, the Yankees held off San Francisco without allowing a run. When Ramos was tagged out at second base, Schmidt hit a ground ball to center field.
San Francisco was able to beat the Yankees and get back on defense fairly quickly in the third inning. Webb had several strikeouts against Stanton and Ben Rice.
Chisholm grounded out in the first inning.
The Giants were still looking for a starting point for their attack, but were unable to find a flow. Arraez grounded out in the first inning, Matt Chapman had a fly out, Devers also grounded out, and the Yankees took the lead with a header in the fourth inning.
The Yankees took the lead in the second inning with consecutive hits from the bat and went on a rampage. Giancarlo Stanton hit a single into the right field seats. Chisholm was automatically given a walk after being hit by a pitch from Webb.
With Stanton and Chisholm at first and second base, Jose Caballero’s double to left field put New York ahead, and Stanton crossed home plate for his first run of the 2026 MLB season.
The Yankees continued their hitting streak. Ryan McMahon followed Caballero with a single to center field, and Caballero and Chisholm each scored for two RBIs.
Austin Wells kept the momentum going and attacked center field. When Grisham entered his second at-bat, he and McMahon were on base. This time they tripled and brought Wells and McMahon home. New York built a 5-0 lead with five hits.
The Giants did not record a single hit until the second inning. One runner, Casey Schmidt, was hit by a pitch and reached base.
The Giants opened the season with a few strikeouts from Logan Webb, sending Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge to the dugout. After the Giants removed Cody Bellinger, he left the field and proceeded to the bottom of the inning.
Rafael Devers made contact and fired a single over the head of second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Grisham had to hit the ball before it hit the ground. Devers reached first base with a single. The Giants were unable to capitalize as Willie Adames struck out and Jung-Hoo Lee grounded out.
Baseball season is officially here among us with the classic East vs. West battle between the Giants and Yankees. Both teams looked to their city’s history when the Giants brought a trolley, San Francisco’s historic means of transportation, into the field to introduce their starting pitchers.
The Yankees’ batting lineup was shown running out of a dugout between taxis with a “NY” logo near the back as Fat Joe’s “Lean Back” played over the stadium’s speakers. The Giants started the game with Logan Webb vs. Trent Grisham at bat.
Webb opened the 2026 season with a strikeout.
Starting pitcher: LHP Max Fried
- Trent Grisham (left) CF
- Aaron Judge (R) RF
- Cody Bellinger (left) LF
- Ben Rice (L) 1B
- Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
- Jose Caballero (R) SS
- Ryan McMahon (left) 3B
- Austin Wells (L) C
Starting pitcher: RHP Logan Webb
- Luis Arraez (L) 2B
- Matt Chapman(R) 3B
- Rafael Devers (L) DH
- Willie Adams (R) SS
- Lee Jung-hoo (left) RF
- Herriot Ramos(R) LF
- Casey Schmidt (R) 1B
- Patrick Bailey (S) C
- Harrison Bader (R) CF
(Going into opening week – 40-man roster, including non-roster players and cash deals)
- new york mets — $357,626,125
- los angeles dodgers — $322,385,057
- new york yankees — $301,064,810
- philadelphia phillies — $283,686,918
- toronto blue jays — $278,989,858
- atlanta braves — $252,141,372
- houston astros — $246,519,331
- san diego padres — $224,833,896
- chicago cubs — $220,693,350
- detroit tigers — $209,415,401
- san francisco giants — $200,800,003
