New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners: Max Fried vs. Logan Gilbert
After their first loss of the season, the Yankees hand the ball to Max Fried on normal rest in Seattle.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning on Opening Day at Oracle Park on March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Yankees finally took one on the chin Monday night, as Cal Raleigh delivered the walk-off winner for the Mariners in Seattle.
After opening the season with a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, New York dropped its first game of 2026 in a frustratingly getting walked off in a 2-1 loss . It might be early in the season, but the games still count the same now as they do in September and these head-to-heads with the Mariners could have playoff seeding implications later in the year. The good news for the Yankees is that they could not ask for a much better bounce-back setup.
Thanks to the rare Sunday offday due to the Netflix Opening Night game on Wednesday, skipper Aaron Boone was able to skip the fifth spot in the rotation and line things up for Max Fried to take the ball tonight on normal rest. It is the kind of subtle early-season advantage smart organizations should exploit, and it gives New York exactly who they want on the mound after their first loss. Fried looked every bit like the ace in his Yankees debut, tossing 6.
1 scoreless innings, while allowing just two hits, and striking out four Giants. What made it even more impressive was that Fried did not appear to have his sharpest stuff or his best command, yet he still found a way to navigate through the Giants lineup down by the bay. Tonight, the task shifts from setting the tone for the season to resetting it after a loss, exactly what you have aces for in baseball.