Dazzling on the Emerald City Mound
Yankees
History. That is what it was. It isn’t every day an MLB team in 2026 gets compared to one from 1943.
Max Fried dazzled on the Emerald City mound for seven innings last night, and he extended his season-opening scoreless streak to 13 1/3 frames. As the Yankees forced the Mariners to go 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position – they never got a runner to third base – New York earned a 5-0 victory.
With the win, the Yankees earned their third shutout in their opening five games, becoming the first team to do so since their 2002 predecessors. What’s more impressive is that the three runs the Yankees have allowed through five games are the fewest in any five-game start since the 1943 St. Louis Cardinals.
The Yankees opted to start their season with four starting arms, and so far, that decision has paid off. Fried’s seven shutout innings, in which he stuck to 90 pitches and allowed three hits and a walk, were just the most recent example. This time, Fried found his groove early. He didn’t have the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day in his way.
“We have a lot of really talented guys that are really motivated,” said Fried, who, dating back to 2025, has won eight consecutive regular-season contests. “We’ve been waiting for this opportunity to have the season start and go compete. We want to go win, and we’re leaving everything out there.”
The most traffic Fried faced was in the seventh inning, when he hit Randy Arozarena, and Brendan Donovan singled to put runners at first and second base. Because his pitch count was low, though, Aaron Boone let his Ace finish the inning.
“Max has gone into the seventh or completed the seventh in back-to-back ones,” Boone said. “Everyone else from the starting rotation has gone out and held [opponents] down, and the bullpen has been excellent.”
Offensively, the Yankees struck early yesterday, scoring two first-inning runs on a trio of two-out hits. First, Cody Bellinger singled, and Ben Rice plated him with a double off the side of the wall near first base. Giancarlo Stanton then singled to score Rice, giving the Bombers an early 2-0 lead.
“It’s a much easier at-bat when the other team has zero runs,” said Stanton, who is hitting .500 in five games to start the season. “Just continue to have good at-bats, continue to watch them dominate, and try to get this series.”
In the sixth inning, New York extended its lead as Trent Grisham served the first pitch of the frame into right field for a ground-rule double. After the struggling Aaron Judge struck out, Bellinger singled and stole second base. As he ran into the bag, Grisham scored on a throwing error by Cal Raleigh behind the plate.
Rice, who finished the game 2-for-2 with a double and two bases on balls, followed with a walk. Then, Stanton struck a ball 113 mph to the left field wall for an RBI double. He became the fourth Yankee to ever record multiple hits in each of his first five games, and the first since Alfonso Soriano in 2003.
“I’m just staying back, being on time for heaters,” said Stanton, who will miss today’s rubber game due to scheduled rest. “Keeping my barrel through the zone as much as possible.”
According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Stanton was one of three Yankees veterans who addressed the team on Saturday, explaining the importance of giving it your all every game. According to Kuty, the Yankees “don’t want to repeat last year’s AL East tie.”
“It’s important, clearly, from last year, and we did a great job at the end of the year when we won, what, eight in a row or whatever,” Stanton told The Athletic. “And it still didn’t get us [to] where we wanted. Take that energy across the whole year instead of, ‘Here’s the comparison and the numbers. Let’s try to beat them now [and] catch up.’”
As Judge has endured a slow start to the year, going 3-for-20, Stanton has reminded Yankees fans of his importance to the club. In his 16th Big League season, he has 10 hits in 20 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run.
“To see him healthy and just out there, ready to do damage, it’s not a fun at-bat when you’re up there facing him,” Fried said. “When he’s locked in like this, I’m really glad that I’m on this side.”
Although the Bombers haven’t uncovered the home run ball consistently yet, they are finding other ways to score. In addition to Rice, who reached base four times yesterday, Bellinger went 2-for-3 with a walk, and leading off, Grisham had two hits, including that ground-rule double to start the sixth inning.
After Stanton’s game-breaking double in the sixth, the Mariners made a pitching change, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. wasn’t fazed. He strung together a four-pitch at-bat against Cole Wilcox, and once he saw a pitch he liked, he hammered it to right field, before stealing second base. The hit gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead.
In the final two innings, the Yankees opted to bring two lefties out of the bullpen. In the eighth, Brent Headrick gave up one hit, but he ended his 10-pitch outing by striking out Raleigh. In the ninth inning, Tim Hill needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order.
This afternoon, the Yankees will send RHP Cam Schlittler (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound against the tough righty George Kirby (1-0, 1.50 ERA) as New York attempts the series win in Seattle (4:10 PM, 3:10 PM CDT – YES, Gotham Sports).
Here is today’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
DH Ben Rice (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Schedule
4:10 PM (3:10 PM CDT): NYY at SEA; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CDT): NYK at MEM; MSG, Gotham Sports
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees, Major League Baseball
