The Yankees stable of arms has come out the gate hotter than the Sun. After a 7-0 victory over the Giants on Opening Night, the Bombers, led by young star Cam Schlittler, continued to post zero after zero on Friday afternoon en route to a 3-0 series-clinching victory. Schlittler combined with four relievers for a one-hit shutout against a listless San Francisco offense, and a pair of sixth-inning home runs from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton proved to be all the firepower necessary to sew up the win.
Both starters worked brisk first innings—Schlittler collected a pair of Ks, the second of which came after a successful ABS challenge from Austin Wells. Both offenses then built rallies in the second, but both fizzled out. Giants starter Robbie Ray stranded two runners by getting new Yankee Randal Grichuk on a soft liner, then Schlittler navigated around a two-out double from Heliot Ramos.
The pitcher’s duel continued into the middle innings. Schlittler in particular was in a groove, working efficiently through four—requiring only 54 pitches. He struck out Rafael Devers and Willy Adames back-to-back to end the home fourth with six Ks. Ray responded by needing just five pitches to retire the side in order in the top of the fifth, but that just gave Schlittler the opportunity to rack up two more strikeouts in a row in a 1-2-3 bottom half.
So, don’t you think there’s a player who’s been conspicuously absent from this recap so far? A Bay Area native who tends to bring the fireworks? Well, wonder no longer: Aaron Judge has arrived in 2026. After a leadoff double from Paul Goldschmidt to start the sixth, Judge turned around an inside fastball and kept it fair down the left-field line for a towering two-run home run. His first hit and homer of the year made it 2-0 Bombers.
View Link
Ray would depart from the game a batter later, with that one blemish tarnishing what was a very strong season debut for the veteran. But the power party continued after he left the game, as Giancarlo Stanton had a mighty greeting for reliever Jose Buttó: a 414-foot moonshot to left field for a 3-0 Yankee edge.
View Link
It looked like Schlittler could have kept pitching for six more innings, but since he isn’t fully built up yet, Aaron Boone opted to lift him for Fernando Cruz just before the third time through the order. He got about as far as Boone could have hoped, finishing his season debut with a sparkling line: 5.1 innings, no runs, one hit, no walks, and eight strikeouts. He was ruthlessly efficient, with just 68 pitches and 49 strikes.
With the combined performances of Schlittler and Max Fried on Opening Day, the Yankees got scoreless outings from each of their first two starters. That matches just one other team in Yankees history: the 2003 squad with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
The Giants’ offensive futility continued in the seventh, as even Tim Hill grabbed a pair of punchouts; both Devers and Adames fell by way of the K against the funky lefty. Then former Giant Camilo Doval continued his triumphant return to Oracle Park in the eighth by striking out the side amid groans from orange-and-black-clad partisans.
The Yankees threatened to expand the lead a few times in the late innings, but those attempts fell by the boards. José Caballero nearly manufactured a run by himself in the seventh, but was thrown out at home on a contact play gone awry. Then Caballero got an opportunity with the bases loaded in the eighth before rolling over to Matt Chapman at third base to end the inning.
So in a three-run game, it was up to David Bednar to grab his first save of the year. He started out with a groundball to third from Harrison Bader, then got WBC foe Luis Arráez to roll over to second. A two-out walk to Matt Chapman gave the Giants a pulse and handed an opportunity to habitual Yankee-torturer Devers, but the former Red Sock pounded a ball into the dirt for the 27th out. Bednar’s save capped off a nearly perfect pitching performance—just one hit allowed.
View Link
Tomorrow, the Yankees go for the sweep. (That’s right: they don’t play on Sunday.) Will Warren will get the ball against veteran righty Tyler Mahle, with first pitch coming at 7:15 PM. It’s another national TV game: FOX will have the call.
Box Score
Read the full article here
