Three games. Three wins. One run allowed.
The New York Yankees opened the 2026 season by sweeping the Giants at Oracle Park, outscoring San Francisco 13-1 across three games. Fried dealt in the opener, Schlittler looked healthy, Bednar locked down the back end twice, and Judge -- after an ugly 0-for-7 start -- hit homers in consecutive games to remind everyone that the slow start thing doesn't last with him.
It's three games. But the pitching was real.
Fried Was Exactly What They Paid For
Six and a third innings, zero runs, four strikeouts. Max Fried walked into Oracle Park on Opening Night and set the tone for the entire series. Webb took the loss on the other side, giving up seven runs (six earned) in five innings -- but it's the first start of the year, and Webb is too good for anyone to read into that.
What stood out was the efficiency. Fried walked Arraez leading off the first and then basically settled in. The Giants are a patient lineup -- they work counts, they put the ball in play -- and he just kept finding the zone early, getting ahead, and letting the defense work. By the fifth he was cruising. The offense gave him seven runs to work with, and he never needed them.
This is the deepest starting rotation the Yankees have had in probably 15 years. Fried at the top of it, with Schlittler right behind him, Cole on his way back, Rodon throwing to live hitters in Tampa -- this staff has a chance to be special. Fried's opener was exactly the kind of start that makes the rest of the rotation feel like it can breathe.
Judge Started Cold. Then He Didn't.
He went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in the opener -- the first reigning MVP to fan four times on Opening Day, if you're into those kinds of records. Through two games he was 0-for-7 and the usual crowd was warming up the hot takes.
Then in the sixth inning of Game 2, he challenged a called strike through the new ABS system, got the call overturned, and demolished the next pitch from Robbie Ray -- 405 feet to left, 109 mph off the bat. Two-run shot. Game over. Stanton followed with a solo homer two batters later (the 60th time those two have gone deep in the same game, which is kind of absurd).
Game 3, fifth inning, Judge hit a 383-footer off Borucki that ricocheted off an ambulance parked in the tunnel past the left field foul pole. Homered in consecutive games after the 0-for-7 start. That's the most Judge thing possible -- go cold for a few days, then hit the ball harder than anyone in the stadium when it matters.
Schlittler Looked Like Schlittler
This was the one I was watching for. After the back inflammation in February, the careful ramp-up in camp, the pitch limits everyone was talking about -- I just wanted to see the stuff play. It did.
Five and a third innings, one hit, eight strikeouts, 68 pitches. He was on a clear count and got pulled accordingly -- this is March, he's 23, and they're going to be careful with him all year. That's fine. The stuff was the story: 13 whiffs, the breaking ball was getting the chases he needs, and the two-seamer had that late arm-side run that makes him so tough on righties. Bednar came in and closed it out. 3-0.
After a winter of managing the health news around this kid, watching him go out and dominate in his first start felt like a genuine exhale for this team.
Bednar Changes the Ninth Inning
Two saves, both clean. Not the kind of "clean" where you're clenching through a leadoff walk -- actually clean. Games 2 and 3, guys up, guys out. Game 3 he allowed a couple singles before getting Bailey to ground into a double play to end it, which is exactly the kind of pitch-to-contact efficiency you want from a closer.
This team has been searching for a reliable ninth-inning arm for years. Clay Holmes had stretches. Chapman had stretches. But the consistent feeling of "okay, we just need to get to Bednar" being a calming thought instead of an anxious one -- that changes how you watch the last three innings. It's early, and the best closers in baseball blow saves in April. But the presence is already different.
Where This Sits
3-0, tied atop the AL East with Toronto. Fried and Schlittler have both delivered. The bullpen has a closer. Judge is hitting the ball 400+ feet again.
Cole is still rehabbing. Rodon is still in Tampa. The lineup is going to need Stanton healthy and Jazz producing. There's a long way to go. But if you're looking at this roster -- the rotation depth, the bullpen arms, Judge in the middle of the order -- and you're not at least a little optimistic about what this team can do when it's fully assembled, I don't know what to tell you.
They went to San Francisco and handled their business. Good start.
