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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Box Score

There have been times over the past three decades when Major League Baseball has come off perhaps a little too desperate.

Crises both self-inflicted (the canceling of the 1994 World Series) and external (Big Football consuming the attention economy, the collapse of linear television) can make the erstwhile national pastime scramble to claw back some of that cultural currency.

And it seemed like more of the same when MLB agreed to sell a pair of prime real estate properties – a standalone Opening Night game and the much-loved Home Run Derby – to Netflix. Hey, gotta meet the viewers where they are and besides, the $50 million annually for three years doesn’t hurt.

Yet when the time finally came for this standalone opener on a nascent sports broadcaster to get beamed to some 300 million global subscribers, it wasn’t the league that came off desperate to leverage the window.

It was Netflix.

You’d think a global brand whose name is synonymous with streaming like Coke and Xerox are for their products wouldn’t feel the need to force-feed the viewer with noxious, wall-to-wall promotions of their #content.

Silly us, failing to realize Netflix was actually bigger than the game.

From Daniel Dae Kim’s game intro (catch him in "Avatar: The Last Airbender") to pro wrestler John Cena’s strange assignment to explain the automatic ball-strike system (hey, be sure to watch "Little Brother," where he stars alongside Eric André, and Michelle Monaghan) to Bert Kreischer’s floating around in a kayak and his pregame screaming as on-field MC, the viewer was never allowed to breathe.

"Free Bert"? No, set us free.

By the time they found Yahya Abdul-Mateen II conveniently seated behind home plate (hey, "Man on Fire" drops April 26!), one thing was clear.

Fox Sports, known for its relentless promotion by placing "Party of Five" stars and Zooey Deschanel in the stands – or singing the national anthem – for World Series games, is off the hook.

The game itself? It was fine enough, though it couldn’t begin until WWE on Netflix superstar Jey Uso screamed “Play Ball!” in front of the sellout crowd.

A great part of baseball are the team giveaways, and this season the Colorado Rockies will be offering a City Connect jersey with fans determining the player’s name on the jersey.

Click here to go directly to the survey.

Who did you vote for, or who do you wish had been an option but wasn’t?

Let us know in the comments!

For a full list of promotional and theme days, click here.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

SAN FRANCISCO — The Yankees are known for the long ball and boasting the best hitter in the game. 

They got neither a home run nor anything from Aaron Judge, but still got plenty from a deep lineup to take down Giants ace Logan Webb and secure their fifth straight win on Opening Day. 

In a span of 10 pitches in the top of the second inning, the Yankees went from having no one on to leading by five runs, an instant rally that, along with a strong outing from Max Fried, fueled a 7-0 win over the Giants at a packed and picturesque Oracle Park. 

“Just trusting one another and keep the line moving,” said José Caballero, who drove in the first run of the night. “That’s the main idea, and we have a pretty good lineup that can do this very often.” 

When the Yankees were charged with running it back this offseason, perhaps there should have been more emphasis on the “run” — as in returning the same lineup that led the majors in runs last year. They got a head start on defending that feat Wednesday night, even on a night when Judge — the only starter without a hit — went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. 

“One through nine can beat you,” said Fried, who tossed 6 ¹/₃ shutout innings despite not having his best command. “We obviously have the best player in the world hitting for us, but we also have a lot of guys being able to support him. It’s a team game and we just want to go out there and do what we can to win every single game that we can.” 

Fried, who survived a rocky first inning, settled in once he was given a 5-0 lead to work with and cruised the rest of the way. The left-hander retired 18 of the final 20 batters he faced, getting better as the night progressed. He reprised his role as the Yankees ace while they await the return of Gerrit Cole. 

The Yankees still have 161 games to go — and, they hope, October on top of that — to prove that doubling down on their roster was the right call after flaming out in the ALDS last year. But at least for Game 1, they used a familiar formula — a 10-hit attack and even stronger starting pitching — to get their season off on the right foot. 

“We’ve got a lot to prove,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re confident. I know they’re confident in their ability to have good at-bats and put up runs, but we’re one game into this thing and we’ve still got a long way to go to prove that. I think we have a chance to do that.” 

Webb retired the first four batters he faced before Giancarlo Stanton — who hit the ball hard all spring — got the Yankees in business with a one-out single in the second inning. Webb then hit Jazz Chisholm Jr. with a sinker before Caballero roped a double to left field, driving in Stanton. 

Ryan McMahon, who went cold for most of the spring after narrowing his batting stance this offseason, came up next and delivered a two-strike, two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0. 

Austin Wells, who went from leading off on Opening Day last year to hitting ninth Wednesday, swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a soft liner to left-center before Trent Grisham — who came into the season facing questions of whether he could repeat his breakout performance in 2025 — roped a triple to the gap for the 5-0 lead. 

The Yankees later padded their lead in the fifth inning when they once again got aggressive on Webb. Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice and Stanton recorded three straight singles on Webb’s first four pitches of the frame to make it 6-0 before the Yankees pushed it to 7-0 on a throwing error. 

Fried, meanwhile, made quick work of the Giants after a first inning in which he walked the first batter he faced on four pitches and left runners on the corners. The Giants mustered only two more base runners against Fried the rest of the night as his offense gave him room to breathe and go on the attack. 

“It was kind of a little bit of everyone tonight, being able to have a hand in it,” Boone said. “A night where we didn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, but just a lot of good, pressurized at-bats. Good night for us.”

The Yankees clobbered a perennial Cy Young candidate and Max Fried pitched like he’s hunting one of those trophies himself as New York opened the Major League Baseball season with a 7-0 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco. 

It was the Yanks' fifth consecutive victory in an opener.

Here are the takeaways...

- Fried threw 6.1 shutout innings, allowing only two hits. He struck out four and walked one, throwing 56 of his 83 pitches for strikes. He wobbled a tad in the first inning, walking Luis Arraez on four pitches leading off and then giving up a bloop single one out later. But Fried fanned Willy Adames and got Jung Hoo Lee on a grounder to end the threat. He wasn’t threatened, even mildly, again. 

Fried was just the fourth Yankee starter on Opening Day to go six or more innings and allow two hits or fewer, according to Sarah Langs. The others were Mel Stottlemyre (1967), Ron Guidry (1980) and David Cone (1996). Fried was making his fourth career start in an opener, having done it three previous times for his old team, the Atlanta Braves. Fried’s start meant that a lefty had started the opener for the third straight season, the first time that’s happened in Yankee history. The other two were NestorCortes (2024) and Carlos Rodón (2025). 

- The Yankees mauled Giants ace Logan Webb, who was making his fifth straight Opening Day start for San Francisco. They scored five times against Webb in the second inning and twice more in the fifth. Webb gave up seven runs (six earned) and nine hits in five frames, striking out seven and walking one. He had not given up as many as seven runs in a single start since July 10, 2024.

- With one out in the Yankee second, Giancarlo Stanton singled and then Jazz Chisholm was hit by a pitch. José Caballero followed with a liner to left that knocked in one run and went for a double. Facing an 0-2 count, Ryan McMahon, the next batter, swatted a slow grounder that passed through the middle and plated two more runs. TrentGrisham followed with a two-run triple on a one-hopper to the wall in center field. Grisham was the first Yankee with a triple on Opening Day since Johnny Damon in 2009, which turned out to be a good year for the franchise.

- In the fifth, Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice and Stanton ripped hard singles to start the inning. Stanton’s was clocked at 114 mph off the bat and drove in the sixth run of the game. The Yanks added another tally on a throwing error by shortstop Adames for a 7-0 lead.

- Baseball history was made in the top of the fourth inning when Caballero became the first player ever to challenge a ball-strike call under the new ABS system, which is starting this season. On the first pitch of the inning, Webb threw a sinker that veered up and in and was called a strike. Caballero tapped his helmet to challenge the call, but ABS upheld the strike call by plate umpire Bill Miller. The Yankees lost one of their challenges as a result, but it didn't cost them and ended up being the lone challenge in the game. Caballero eventually grounded out, but he’ll always have his spot as the first MLB player to challenge a ball-strike call. 

- After Fried was done, Jake Bird delivered a spotless two-thirds of an inning, Brent Headrick threw a scoreless eighth and ex-Giant Camilo Doval tossed a shutout ninth.

- One blip on the night for the Yankees was Aaron Judge’s 0-for-5 night, which included four strikeouts. Judge fanned three times against Webb and once against KeatonWinn. Judge did not fan four times in a game during the entire 2025 season. He finally hit a fair ball in the ninth, grounding out to short.

Highlights

Max Fried escapes the first inning scoreless! pic.twitter.com/NEi0Gc2bbx

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 26, 2026

Jose Caballero drives in the first run of the season! pic.twitter.com/gTIPEexbhw

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 26, 2026

Ryan McMahon makes it 3-0 with a 2-run knock! pic.twitter.com/o8dWezkhaV

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 26, 2026

5-0 YANKEES!

A 2-run triple for Trent Grisham! pic.twitter.com/AYco3E5bAU

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 26, 2026

What's next

Thursday is an off day as the rest of baseball gets underway. Right-hander Cam Schlittler gets the ball for Friday's 4:35 p.m. ET first pitch against left-hander Robbie Ray. 

Barry Bonds, New York Yankee.

It could’ve happened, according to MLB’s all-time home run leader.

Bonds, as part of Netflix’s coverage of Yankees-Giants on Opening Day, revealed on the streamer’s broadcast that he nearly became a member of the Bronx Bombers during his first free agency in 1993.

Barry Bonds tells the story of how he nearly became a Yankees player.

WILD #OpeningNightpic.twitter.com/UDQHnbVuNQ

— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) March 26, 2026

“I gotta tell you a story because George [Steinbrenner] isn’t here anymore,” Bonds said. So I can tell the truth. I would’ve been a Yankee, and Steinbrenner got on the phone, and they called us and he told me, ‘Barry, we’re going to give you the money,’ highest-paid player at that time, ‘but you have to sign the contract by 2 o’clock this afternoon. I said, ‘Excuse, me?” and I hung the phone up.”

Bonds said his agent couldn’t believe what he said to Steinbrenner, and after going for a lunch, the Giants called him and the slugger decided to “go home,” where his dad, outfielder Bobby Bonds, started his own playing career.

“It’s the truth, that’s what I was told,” Bonds replied when play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian said the story would go viral on social media.

Bonds joined the Giants in 1993 and played the rest of his career in San Francisco, hitting 586 home runs, setting the single-season record with 73 in 2001.

Even without Bonds, the Yankees built an incredible core of players who won four World Series titles during the period from 1996 to 2000.

Bonds, while smashing records, only made the World Series once, losing to the Angels in a seven-game classic in 2002.

Had a 2 p.m. ultimatum never been on the table, could Bonds have done all that damage — and more — in The Bronx? One can only imagine.