SAN FRANCISCO — New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge went hitless on opening day for the first time while striking out four times for the first time since September 2024, but his team still produced plenty of offense while beating the San Francisco Giants 7-0 to spoil the debut of manager Tony Vitello as Major League Baseball’s 2026 season began Wednesday night Oracle Park.
The Giants-Yankees matchup had the spotlight — and a first live baseball broadcast for streaming service Netflix — all to itself on the first day of the 2026 regular season, with the rest of the openers in the majors set for Thursday and Friday.
José Caballero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in a five-run second inning, but he also lost the first challenge taken to MLB’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by Logan Webb in the fourth.
Max Fried (1-0) allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings to became just the fifth Yankees pitcher since 1969 with at least 6 1/3 shutout innings on opening day, joining Catfish Hunter (1977), Ron Guidry (1980), Rick Rhoden (1988) and David Cone (1996). New York won an opener with a shutout on the road for the first time since 1967.
Webb (0-1) started the fourth inning with a 90.7 mph sinker on the upper inner corner that was called a strike by Bill Miller, an MLB umpire since 1997. Caballero tapped his helmet, and the 12 Hawk-Eye cameras of the automated ball-strike system upheld Miller’s decision in a graphic shown on the Oracle Park scoreboard.
Caballero singled in the second and Ryan McMahon followed with a two-run single before Austin Wells’ single prompted a mound visit for Webb. Trent Grisham hit a two-run triple and was checked by medical staff after a hard slide into third.
Judge was booed before the game and during each at-bat as he began his 11th MLB season. The California native had been pursued by the Giants during free agency in 2022, but he ultimately chose the Yankees’ $360 million, nine-year contract offer.
Webb, a 15-game winner last season making his fifth start on opening day, was tagged for six earned runs — seven in all — and nine hits in five innings.
The 47-year-old Vitello made the big jump from coaching the University of Tennessee. He came to the majors with no pro experience as a player or coach.
After a day off, the teams resume the series Friday afternoon.