Maybe it’s irresponsible to extrapolate much from an opener, considering how soaked in pomp the first game of the season can be, both teams fresh out of spring camp and no one yet in midseason mode. Yeah, it’s early and the season is soooooo long.
But it’s hard not to like what the Yankees did Wednesday night in routing the Giants, 7-0, in the first game of the Major League Baseball season in San Francisco. Love, really.
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The Yankees offense, tops in the majors last season, scored seven times without the benefit of its best weapon, the home run, or its best hitter.
Aaron Judge, the game’s biggest offensive force, was 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, and the Yanks flourished, anyway. In the big pinstriped picture, Judge’s forgettable night didn’t matter a whit except to social media wiseacres shopworking jokes.
There were other glowing pluses, too, including a superlative outing from Max Fried, who threw 6.1 shutout innings, and 2.2 scoreless frames from the bullpen. After an early wobble in the first inning, Fried basked in the comfort of the five-spot the Yankees put up in the second inning off one of baseball’s best pitchers, San Francisco ace Logan Webb.
If Fried can battle like this when he’s perhaps not his sharpest and then unleash brilliance when he’s at his best, the Yankee rotation profiles as a monster, what with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón slated to return during the season. Especially if Cam Schlittler is what Yankee fans hope he is and what he showed last year.
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There’s more: Judge was the only batter without at least one hit. Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton had two apiece. The Yankees took an aggressive approach against the Giants, getting five of their 10 hits on the first pitch of an at-bat. If you are a Yankee fan who’s been crying for their favorite team to not rely so much on the home run, maybe this game’s in your Louvre. They still struck out 12 times – no offense is perfect.
The Yankees leaned on the longballs last year, scoring 50.1 percent of their MLB-best 849 runs via the home run. Don’t get us wrong – hitting home runs is a great way to win. The Yankees had a .632 winning percentage when they hit a single homer last year and that figure ballooned to .707 when they hit two-plus longballs.
But for years, the Yanks have felt like a team that could use a little offensive diversification. That’s why it’s great they have an able basestealer like José Caballero on the roster. Caballero drove in the first run of the game and, while he made an error at shortstop, he also had a nice pickup toward the middle.
If Caballero continues to have positive moments, the chatter around shortstop will only get louder as Anthony Volpe, who struggled last year, recovers from offseason surgery. His shoulder fix might explain why he backslid last year, but Caballero doubtless made fans Wednesday night, which could bring up thorny questions for the Yanks when Volpe’s ready again.
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Speaking of questions, there were plenty about bringing Trent Grisham back to play center. But Grisham on Wednesday gave doubters something to chew on, lashing a key two-run triple. It’s one game, we get it, but it was a big hit. A few more of those, and maybe skeptics won’t doubt his ability to flash numbers similar to last year.
Oh, and were you fretting about Ben Rice’s defense at first? He made several tough scoops there. Early days, yes, but something to build on. And while Jazz Chisholm Jr. might have a rep as someone who blanks on defense sometimes, he sure was paying attention in the sixth inning when Matt Chapman lashed a low, 106.7 mph liner at him. Chisholm didn’t catch it cleanly, but snagged the ball out of the air with his bare hand, a nice second-chance snare for an out.
It was only the first night and maybe we should be careful about any conclusions we draw. Early metaphors are cheap and easy, and we don’t know how long early sizzle will last. Who in their right mind would draw any lasting impression from Judge’s game, right?
Still, for one night, the Yanks didn’t mask big flaws with big homers or pummel some bad team to shine up their runs-per-game stats. They beat an ace and soundly. Maybe they have a couple of different ways to beat teams.
Lots to like. But plenty to still prove, too.
It’s early, after all.
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