SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Judge failed to get a hit on the inaugural day of the season for the initial time, and likewise registered four strikeouts for the first time since September 2024. However, the New York Yankees nonetheless generated substantial scoring, defeating San Francisco 7-0 on Wednesday evening during the premiere of Giants’ manager Tony Vitello as the primary baseball season commenced.
José Caballero propelled the decisive run home with an RBI single during a five-run second inning. He also became the first to lose a challenge directed at Major League Baseball’s purported automated umpire, fruitlessly contesting a strike called by Logan Webb in the fourth frame.
Max Fried (1-0) yielded only two hits over 6⅓ frames, thus becoming merely the fifth Yankees pitcher since 1969 to pitch at least 6⅓ scoreless innings on Opening Day, alongside Catfish Hunter (1977), Ron Guidry (1980), Rick Rhoden (1988), and David Cone (1996). New York secured a season-opener with a road shutout for the first time since 1967.
Webb (0-1) initiated the fourth inning with a 90.7 mph sinker positioned on the upper, inside corner, which was designated a strike by Bill Miller, a significant league umpire since 1997. Caballero gently struck his helmet, and the dozen Hawk-Eye cameras of the automated ball-strike system affirmed Miller’s ruling in a visual displayed on the Oracle Park scoreboard.
Caballero hit a single in the second inning, and Ryan McMahon then produced a two-run single before Austin Wells’ single necessitated a mound conference for Webb. Trent Grisham then achieved a two-run triple and received examination by medical personnel following a forceful slide into third base.
Judge faced jeers prior to the match and during every turn at bat as he commenced his eleventh season in the major league. The native Californian had been sought after by the Giants during the 2022 free agency period; however, he ultimately opted for the Yankees’ $360 million, nine-year agreement proposal.
Webb, who secured 15 wins last season and was making his fifth Opening Day start, conceded six earned runs — totaling seven — and nine hits across five innings.
The 47-year-old Vitello undertook a significant transition from coaching at the University of Tennessee.
The squads will recommence the series on Friday afternoon, with RHP Cam Schlittler pitching for New York against the left-handed Robbie Ray.