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Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts

Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts | iNFOnews.ca
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge walks to the on deck circle during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 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 offense and beat San Francisco 7-0 Wednesday night in the debut of Giants manager Tony Vitello as the major league season began.

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 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, joining Catfish Hunter (1977), Ron Guidry (1980), Rick Rhoden (1988) and David Cone (1996). 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’ $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.

The 47-year-old Vitello made the big jump from coaching the University of Tennessee.

Up next

The teams resum3 the series Friday afternoon, with RHP Cam Schlittler starting for New York opposite lefty Robbie Ray.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts | iNFOnews.ca
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge walks to the dugout after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts | iNFOnews.ca
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts | iNFOnews.ca
San Francisco Giants’ Luis Arraez, left, and manager Tony Vitello, middle, watch from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts | iNFOnews.ca
New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton, right, hits an RBI single in front of San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey during the fifth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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The Associated Press

Janie Mccauley

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

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