Aaron Judge went hitless on opening day for the first time and struck out four times for the first time since September 2024, but the New York Yankees still produced plenty of offence and beat San Francisco 7-0 on Wednesday night to begin the 2026 Major League Baseball season.

José Caballero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in a five-run second and also lost the first challenge taken to Major League Baseball’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by Giants starter 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.

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, a major league 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 big league season.

The California native had been pursued by the Giants during free agency in 2022 but he ultimately chose the Yankees' US$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 over five innings. (AP)


Edited by Edmond Fong