The Yankees finally took one on the chin Monday night, as Cal Raleigh delivered the walk-off winner for the Mariners in Seattle. After opening the season with a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, New York dropped its first game of 2026 in a frustratingly getting walked off in a 2-1 loss.
It might be early in the season, but the games still count the same now as they do in September and these head-to-heads with the Mariners could have playoff seeding implications later in the year. The good news for the Yankees is that they could not ask for a much better bounce-back setup.
Advertisement
Thanks to the rare Sunday offday due to the Netflix Opening Night game on Wednesday, skipper Aaron Boone was able to skip the fifth spot in the rotation and line things up for Max Fried to take the ball tonight on normal rest. It is the kind of subtle early-season advantage smart organizations should exploit, and it gives New York exactly who they want on the mound after their first loss.
Fried looked every bit like the ace in his Yankees debut, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings, while allowing just two hits, and striking out four Giants. What made it even more impressive was that Fried did not appear to have his sharpest stuff or his best command, yet he still found a way to navigate through the Giants lineup down by the bay. Tonight, the task shifts from setting the tone for the season to resetting it after a loss, exactly what you have aces for in baseball.
Seattle counters with Logan Gilbert, one of the more underrated power right-handers in the American League. Gilbert might not be the definite ace of this loaded staff but he is a gem of a starting pitcher nonetheless. Gilbert’s combination of fastball shape, extension, and swing-and-miss secondaries gives this matchup the feel of another pitchers’ duel, which means the Yankees’ offense may once again need to capitalize on a small handful of mistakes. However, there is some reason for optimism.
History suggest the Yankees can make Gilbert uncomfortable. In seven career starts against New York, Gilbert is just 2-3 with a 6.57 ERA and 31 strikeouts, and several of those outings have turned into short, high-stress nights. That includes his lone start against the Yankees last season when the Bombers were able to chase Gilbert after 5.1 innings of five-run ball (one unearned) in the Bronx.
Advertisement
After mustering just one run Monday night, the Yankees will hope they can get to Gilbert early and often with the bats. Boone continues to tinker with the lineup, and tonight backup catcher J.C. Escarra gets his first appearance of the young season after four consecutive starts from Austin Wells. Escarra, Ben Rice, and Ryan McMahon all get their first cracks at Gilbert. That puts the focus squarely on the big bats of the order.
Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. are the types of hitters who can change this matchup with one swing, especially against a pitcher who tends to live in the zone early with his fastball. If the Yankees are going to bounce back tonight, it likely starts with their stars doing damage rather than matchup specialists exploiting a split.
Can Judge and company cash in on their opportunities this time, or will Seattle’s pitching staff keep making life difficult in T-Mobile Park?
How to Watch
Location: T-Mobile Park — Seattle, WA
Advertisement
First pitch: 9:40 p.m. ET
TV broadcast: YES Network, Mariners.TV, TBS (National broadcast)
Online stream: Gotham Sports App
Listen: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, Seattle Sports 710 AM
For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
-
Comment on articles, community posts
-
Rec comments, community posts
-
New, improved notifications system!
Read the full article here
