New York Yankees Jazz Chisholm Jr., left, and Jose Caballero, right, are congratulated by Austin Wells (28) after both scored on Ryan McMahon’s two-run single against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
By Lincoln Juarez
SAN FRANCISCO – The Bronx Bombers came out swinging into 2026 deflating the sellout crowd at 3rd and King. Eight of the nine in the New York lineup recorded a hit lighting up a seven in the run column. Tony Vitello started his Major League managerial career on the wrong end of a 7-0 blowout on Opening Night.
Wednesday night at Oracle Park marked the start of the Giants’ 69th season in San Francisco and potentially the most unique and exciting. New energy runs through the city with first-year manager Tony Vitello taking the reins of a Giants team that underperformed in 2025. Vitello was hired in late October from the University of Tennessee, becoming the first ever Major League manager without any kind of professional experience. He put Tennessee baseball on the map by transforming the program into a national contender every year. With the additions of three-time batting champion Luis Arraez at the top of the order, a speedy Harrison Bader in the outfield and two more reliable arms in the rotation (Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser), the G-Men aim to end losing ways and make the postseason for the first time since their spectacular 2021 season (107-55).
Red, white, and blue confetti swirled in the breeze and the celebratory opening night festivities concluded with a flyover by the 144th Fighter Wing. Oracle Park was alive for the first time since September. Right after Tony Vitello finished his first official plate meeting as a big league manager, Logan Webb led the Giants to the field.
Webb missed most of Spring Training to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. During the tournament he pitched in two exciting wins for the Stars and Stripes, finishing 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 11 strikeouts. In the cactus league, Webb was also 2-0 but had a 6.75 ERA in just 9.1 innings pitched. In his last outing in Arizona he worked his pitch count up to 86 but allowed six runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings.
Webb started off on the right foot and the first pitch in MLB of 2026 was a strike, one of three to send Trent Grisham packing to start the ballgame. Webb struck out his Team USA teammate Aaron Judge for the second out and Heliot Ramos made a catch in shallow left field to cap off a scoreless first frame. Ramos got the start in left field Wednesday, putting an end to the Giants’ 19 year streak of starting a different left fielder on Opening Day.
In the home first Luis Arraez walked in his first at-bat as a Giant, eventually getting thrown out at second base on a fielder’s choice. Matt Chapman beat the throw to first base bringing up Rafael Devers with one out. Devers blooped a ball into shallow center field that fell for a hit advancing Chapman to third base. The clean-up hitter, Willy Adames struck out with runners at the corners and Jung Hoo Lee grounded out to Yankee second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to put an end to the Giants threat.
The Giants only had two hits from that point on, failing to get any sort of offensive momentum against Max Fried and the rest of the New York pitchers who threw in Wednesday’s game including former Giant Camilo Doval. The Giants’ three hits on Opening Night were the fewest in a season-opener since April 12, 1965.
Luis Arraez recorded one of the three hits with an eighth inning single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, which started on September 10, 2025.
The Yankees had the complete opposite night on offense, tagging Giants pitching for seven runs on 10 hits. The Bronx Bombers teed off in the second inning putting up five runs to put the game out of reach early. Giancarlo Stanton singled with one out and Jazz Chisholm Jr. got hit by a pitch allowing the Yankees to get on a roll.
Jose Caballero drove in Stanton on an RBI double and Ryan McMahon followed up with a single up the middle that scored Chisholm and Caballero. Trent Grisham tripled after an Austin Wells single that brought home McMahon and Wells. Finally Webb struck out Judge and Bellinger to put an end to the damaging inning.
The only Yankee in the starting lineup to go without a hit on Wednesday was Aaron Judge, who went 0-for-5 while striking out four times. Judge became the first reigning MVP to strike out four times on the following opening day. Logan Webb accounted for three of those strikeouts but “couldn’t care less” about them after a displeasing outing.
New York tacked on two more in the fifth to put a cherry on top of a 7-0 victory to start 2026.
Simply put Tony Vitello said “A more competitive effort would’ve been better”. The Yankees took advantage of Giants mistakes and capitalized with runners in scoring position. The Giants had just two runners in scoring position all night.
In college baseball, the mentality is all about winning a series and the Giants have the opportunity to do just that this weekend at Oracle Park. Robbie Ray will be on the hill for the orange and black Friday afternoon on Opening Day. First pitch is at 1:35pm.
Sports Radio Service 