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 Giants starter 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.
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’ US$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. (AP)
Edited by Edmond Fong
