03/27/26 09:03:00
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03/27 21:01 CDT Yankees' Aaron Judge hits 2-run homer to end 0-for-7 start to
season as New York tops Giants 3-0
Yankees' Aaron Judge hits 2-run homer to end 0-for-7 start to season as New
York tops Giants 3-0
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Baseball Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --- Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the sixth to end an
0-for-7 start to his year after the two-time reigning AL MVP had a strike call
overturned by the automated system earlier in the same at-bat when he
challenged, and the New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on
Friday.
After going hitless on opening day for the first time in the Yankees' shutout
win two days earlier, Judge connected on a 405-foot drive to left with an exit
velocity of 109.1 mph that broke up a scoreless game and marked his fourth
career home run off Robbie Ray (0-1).
The ball bounced off a staircase just inside the foul pole.
It was the seventh pitch he saw from Ray, and fifth after the slugger
challenged a strike call --- an 86.1 mph slider --- from plate umpire Chad
Fairchild and had it overturned to a ball by the so-called robot umpire.
The Giants, who had just one hit, are the first team to be shut out with five
or fewer combined hits over the first two games of a season.
Judge was booed again by the sellout home crowd of 40,273 after he chose to
stay with New York as a free agent in December 2022 on a $360 million,
nine-year contract rather than return home to his native California and join
San Francisco.
Giancarlo Stanton homered two batters later to greet Giants reliever Jos Butt
to back right-hander Cam Schlittler (1-0).
Tony Vitello will have to try again Saturday for his first managerial victory
after losing his debut Wednesday, when the Yankees opened the MLB schedule by
blanking San Francisco 7-0 despite Judge's 0-for-5 day featuring four
strikeouts.
Vitello became the ninth manager in baseball history to be shut out in each of
his first two games with a team, and seventh manager to do so in his first two
games overall, according to Sportradar.
Heliot Ramos doubled in the second for San Francisco's only hit after the
Giants managed just three hits Wednesday.
David Bednar finished for his first save.
The 18 consecutive innings without scoring to start the season are the longest
for the Giants since going 17 straight in 2019. The longest for the franchise
since 1901 is 20 straight innings without a run to start was in 1909, according
to Sportradar.
Up next
RHP Will Warren takes the mound for the Yankees in the series finale Saturday
opposite Giants RHP Tyler Mahle in his San Francisco debut.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
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