Max Fried, Yankee bats deliver historic Opening Day defeat for Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — The New York Yankees heard all about that effusive energy coming out of the San Francisco Giants ’ clubhouse, that ol’ college spirit that was going to be a game-changer in Major League Baseball , and how the Yankees would be the first to bear witness to the new sheriff in town. Well, by the end of the night, the Yankees were the ones who let Giants rookie manager Tony Vitello know that energy can be nice, but it’s absolutely worthless when you have a pitcher that can shove that energy where the McCovey Cove kayaks can’t float. The Yankees, behind Max Fried’s brilliant performance, completely shut down the Giants, 7-0 , on Wednesday night in the 2026 season opener , with all of that energy vanishing into the night in front of a sellout crowd of 40,856 at Oracle Park.

The Yankees, with Fried giving up just two hits in 6 1/3 innings, with the seven-run defeat equaling the Giants' most lopsided in a season opener. The Giants had one hit in the first inning. Another hit in the fourth inning.

One in the eighth inning. That was it. It was the Giants’ fewest hits on Opening Day since April 12, 1965.

“We could nitpick,’’ Vitello said, “but this wasn’t a March Madness game where we drew up the wrong play at the end. ” It was a complete and thoroughly ugly beatdown by the Bronx Bombers, but it could have been much worse. Can you imagine the damage the Yankees could have done if Aaron Judge didn’t strike out four times in the first six innings, becoming the first reigning MVP to strike out four times in a season opener?