After a long offseason, the wait is finally over. Opening Day has officially arrived on the calendar, and the New York Yankees are going to be one of the two teams marking the start of the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
As the only game of the day—well, evening—the eyes of every baseball fan will be tuned in to the action at Oracle Park out in San Francisco. The Yankees begin their season out west in front of a hostile crowd rooting on their Giants, now led by former University of Tennessee Volunteers manager Tony Vitello, a curious choice made by team legend and president of baseball operations Buster Posey.
Advertisement
San Francisco has made the playoffs just once since 2016 and looks to improve upon a 2025 season in which they finished at exactly the .500 mark and third in the National League West, while the Yankees once again move toward the goal of winning a World Series in the era of Aaron Judge. For more on the Giants as a whole, check out my colleague Matt’s team preview, and of course we’ve done a full player-by-player preview for everyone on the Yankees. Their roster is all but finalized.
All first pitch times below are Eastern Standard Time; Yankees starters were confirmed by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and the Giants by Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle. Happy 2026 season, everyone! Let’s play ball.
Wednesday — Max Fried vs. Logan Webb (8:05 pm)
After Gerrit Cole went down with a season-ending arm injury in March 2025 that required Tommy John surgery, it was the newly-signed Max Fried’s job to step in and take over the role of ace, which he did extremely well. He finished last season with a 19-5 record and a 2.86 ERA with 189 strikeouts in 195.1 innings pitched. He earned an All-Star nod, a Gold Glove, and finished fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting. Cole’s injury happened late enough in camp last year that the Yankees elected to have Carlos Rodón start Opening Day rather than move Fried off schedule, but he was clearly prepared for the Opening Day nod this time around (Cole continues to work back into shape and get ready for a return). The southpaw previously started three Opening Days for the Braves from 2021-23, and is raring to go in 2026.
Advertisement
However, at the other end of the spectrum is a pitcher who had a spectacular season last year as well: Logan Webb. The Giants’ workhorse ace pitched 207 innings, the most of anyone in MLB, and tallied 224 strikeouts, pacing the National League. Webb recorded a 3.22 ERA and also finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. So, not only will baseball fans get a glimpse at a couple of exciting offenses, but these two aces are coming off fantastic seasons and will be sure to battle it out against one another — especially in a pitcher’s park like Oracle. This will be Webb’s fifth consecutive Opening Day start for the Giants, remarkably passing Posey’s old batterymates Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner (among others) for second in team history, only trailing Hall of Famer Juan Marichal.
As a reminder, the Opening Day game will be broadcast exclusively on Netflix.
Friday — Cam Schlittler vs. Robbie Ray (4:35 pm)
After a day off, the Yankees and Giants will take the field again for the second matchup of three and the first familiar telecast of the season on YES Network. This pitching duel will be between a young, up-and-coming right-hander and a well-established, veteran left-hander.
Advertisement
Last year, Cam Schlittler made waves, pitching in 14 games for the Yankees, racking up 1.3 fWAR and a 2.96 ERA in 73.0 innings pitched. The rookie’s best performance came in the AL Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox, his childhood team. He pitched eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in the winner-take-all game, all as a rookie. Now, Schlittler begins his first full season at the major-league level, and he will have to use his excellent stuff to beat the man across from him.
Robbie Ray had his best season in a few years in 2025, pitching 180+ innings for the first time since 2022—the season after his Cy Young Award-winning year in Toronto earned him a big contract—and ending with a respectable 3.65 ERA. While his strikeout stuff declined relative to his stellar earlier career, he lowered his walk and home run rates in the process, and entering the season at age 34, he’s looking to start off another solid campaign. It will be his third in San Francisco since coming over in a January 2024 trade with the Mariners, mid-Tommy John surgery rehab.
Saturday — Will Warren vs. Tyler Mahle (7:15 pm)
In the final matchup of MLB opening weekend before an odd Sunday offday, two hurlers look to prove themselves for their respective clubs. This one will be broadcast on Fox.
Advertisement
Will Warren pitched 162.1 innings last year for the Yankees and tied for the AL lead with 33 starts, but his 4.44 ERA likely isn’t something he’s satisfied with, especially given his upgraded role in the rotation for the time being. He still finished the 2025 season with 2.1 fWAR, which is more than respectable enough for a 26-year-old in his first full major league season. However, with up-and-down results leading to more offseason work, there’s an opportunity for Warren to truly cement himself as a key member of the top five.
As for righty Tyler Mahle, he is a new member of the Giants organization, having played last season down south with the Texas Rangers. He pitched only 86.2 innings in 16 games due to a right rotator cuff injury and shoulder strain, but in those 86.2 innings, he pitched well. His 2.18 ERA looks excellent (despite the predictive numbers suggesting he should be around the 4-4.5 mark), and because of that, he finished the season with 1.9 fWAR. That being said, last season, he didn’t finish with the best numbers in terms of strikeouts, so there could be some room for bat-to-ball skills from the Yankees to be utilized. Mahle also pitched well in limited time during spring training, not givinp a run in four games and 10 innings pitched. New Giants skipper Vitello feels comfortable with his stuff and will have him close out this series.
Read the full article here
