Yankees blow out Giants 7-0 in season opener

SAN FRANCISCO —When you think of the Yankees you envision long home runs as part of a potent offense.

Amassing ten hits and seven runs without a long ball is just as effective as the Yankees took the season opener from the Giants, 7-0.

It was a forgettable second inning for Logan Webb who surrendered five runs on five hits in that frame. Jose Caballero with a two run double, Ryan McMahon with an RBI single and Trent Grisham capped the scoring with a long two-run triple to right center.

Listening to the radio broadcast, analyst Mike Krukow noted the Yankees were pouncing on Webb’s off-speed pitches.

There weren’t many positives for the orange and black but leadoff man Luis Arraez drew a four pitch walk in his Giants debut. Arraez was 1-for-3 extending his hit streak to 16 games dating back to last season. Arraez could be a spark plug to set the table for the heart of the order or that’s what first year manager Tony Vitello is hoping for.

"(The Yankees) were attacking, they got to him early in the count a few times," Vitello said. "Overall he's a ground ball pitcher and the ball got elevated a couple of times. It's not like those guys were launching balls over outfielder's heads or over the fence but they stacked their hits together and some of that came from the bottom of the order that had success too."

Webb gave up two more runs In the fifth before he was done for the night and while it wasn’t an excessive pitch count he has to be disappointed in his outing. He only issued one walk and had seven strikeouts. But giving up six earned runs on nine hits in five innings for a 10.80 ERA is not what the doctor ordered.

"They just started kind of ambushing," Webb said. "I threw all the pitches I wanted to throw, not necessarily where I wanted to throw them. They did a good job, I did a bad job."

Keaton Winn took over in relief and he struck out two in his inning of work.

Max Fried was dominant for the Yankees pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Rafael Devers and Heliot Ramos with the only hits off Fried in this dud of a game.

It was an abbreviated opening ceremony but the highlight was seeing the Yankees introduced from their dugout as they ran between two yellow taxicab cars, a famous symbol of transit in the “Big Apple.”

The Giants were not to be outdone as skipper Vitello and his players emerged from a motorized Cable Car. During the anthem, there was a pyrotechnic effect where colored smoke momentarily displayed the American Flag before it broke apart into a giant colored cloud.

The teams get Thursday off before they have another “opening day” with all the pomp and circumstance. Hopefully, the Giants will be more entertaining and competitive during the game and not just for the pregame festivities.

NOTES:

The seven run defeat tied for the worst by a Giants team since moving west in 1958, losing 8-1 to the Dodgers on July 23, 2020 and also in 2007 and 1995. ... The Giants were shut out on Opening Day for the first time since March 30, 2023 at Yankee Stadium. ... It was the first time the Giants were shut out at home on Opening Day since losing to the Padres 7-0 in 2007.