The New York Yankees started the 2026 MLB season strong, earning a 7-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night. One would surely imagine that Aaron Judge played a huge role in the Yankees' seven-run outburst, but that was not the case. Not only did the reigning MVP go 0-5 at the plate, but Judge struck out four times. According to Bryan Hoch, Judge is the first reigning MVP to record four strikeouts in the first game of a season.
New York's lineup still managed to find success against San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb. In fact, Webb -- who is one of the best starting pitchers in the sport -- surrendered all seven runs in the defeat.
For the Yankees, Max Fried was terrific on the mound. The southpaw turned in 6 and one third innings of shutout baseball. Giancarlo Stanton went 2-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham both had two RBIs in the win.
What Yankees Proved on Opening Night
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One of the swirling narratives this past offseason was that the Yankees did not add enough around Aaron Judge. The team is returning a mostly similar roster to last year, which left some fans feeling upset. On Wednesday, though, the Yankees proved that they can win even when Judge is not at his best.
Judge is going to be fine. He is a three-time MVP overall and the Yankees star has won back-to-back MVP awards heading into 2026. There is no reason to overreact to his first game of the new campaign.
However, the Yankees silenced their doubters as a unit. New York can get the job done even when Judge struggles, and that is important. As great as Judge is, even he can't be incredible every single game. The Yankees feature a more complete roster than many people seem to think.
Of course, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon have yet to return from injury. The team will get even stronger once the All-Star pitchers are back in the rotation.
The Yankees and Giants will have an off day on Thursday. On Friday, the ball clubs will go head-to-head once again. The Yankees and Giants will finish their three-game series in San Francisco on Saturday night.
Aaron Judge will look to record his first hit -- and avoid another four-strikeout performance -- on Friday in the Yankees' next matchup.
