SAN FRANCISCO — Two-time reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge went hitless on opening day for the first time in his big-league career and had four strikeouts in a game for the first time since September 2024 in the New York Yankees’ 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
Judge struck out swinging in the first against Logan Webb, took a called third strike in the second, struck out on a foul tip in the fourth, then took another called third strike in the sixth. He grounded out for a 0-for-5 night.
He had not struck out four times since a five-strikeout game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 28, 2024.
The Yankees’ José Caballero lost the first challenge taken to MLB’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by Webb.
Webb 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.
New York was ahead 5-0 at the time. Caballero drove in the first run with an RBI single in a five-run second inning against Webb, who recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in the fourth.
Judge was booed before the game and during each at-bat as he began his 11th big-league season — someone the home fans at Oracle Park had so hoped would be wearing orange and black rather than pinstripes and playing in the Bronx. The California native was pursued by the Giants during free agency in 2022 but he ultimately chose the Yankees’ $360 million, nine-year contract offer.
The 33-year-old grew up in the Central Valley town of Linden and starred at Fresno State. He batted a career-best and major league-high .331 last season with 53 home runs and 114 RBIs.