Judge’s 3-Run Homer Lifts Yankees to Second Straight Shutout of Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — Cam Schlittler and a quartet of relievers combined on a one-hit shutout, and Aaron Judge’s two-run homer broke a scoreless duel in the sixth inning as the New York Yankees blanked the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on Friday afternoon at Oracle Park.
A crowd of 40,273 watched the Yankees, favored by 1.5 runs according to sportsbooks, improve to 2-0, while the Giants fell to 0-2. The game time was 2 hours, 37 minutes.
The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the sixth inning, transforming a tense pitchers’ duel into a decisive Yankees advantage. Facing Giants starter Robbie Ray, Paul Goldschmidt led off with a ground-ball double down the right-field line. Judge then stepped in and launched a 1-0 offering from Ray deep over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season, scoring Goldschmidt ahead of him. Two batters later, Giancarlo Stanton added a solo shot, also to left field, to cap the three-run outburst. That provided all the offense the Yankees’ pitching staff would require.
Schlittler, making his first start of 2026, was dominant. The right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, with the Giants’ only baserunner through five frames coming on a second-inning double by Heliot Ramos. After retiring Patrick Bailey and Harrison Bader to start the sixth, Schlittler issued a walk to Matt Chapman, ending his afternoon after 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just the one hit, struck out eight and walked one, earning his first win of the season.
The Yankees’ bullpen was flawless behind him. Tim Hill recorded the final two outs of the sixth. Fernando Cruz worked a scoreless seventh, and Camilo Doval struck out the side in the eighth. David Bednar closed it out with a perfect ninth inning to secure his first save, sealing the combined one-hitter.
Ray took the hard-luck loss for San Francisco. He was sharp for much of his outing, yielding two earned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out four. The Giants’ bullpen of Ryan Borucki, Erik Miller and Matt Gage kept New York off the board over the final 3 2/3 innings, but the offense could not muster a rally.
The Yankees managed eight hits total, with Judge’s homer representing the key blow. Stanton finished 2-for-4 with his solo shot. The Giants’ offense was stymied all evening, mustering only Ramos’s double and two walks, while striking out 13 times as a team.
The victory continued a strong opening series for the Yankees, who shut out the Giants 7-0 in the season opener two days prior. According to the Interstat game simulator, which had projected a 1-0 Yankees win, the actual 3-0 result outperformed expectations, though the total score of three runs fell well under the sportsbook over/under line of 7.5. The ELO system gave New York a 55.6% probability to win pregame.
New York will go for a series sweep on Saturday afternoon back at Oracle Park. The Yankees then travel to Seattle for a three-game set starting Monday. The Giants will look to avoid the sweep Saturday before heading to San Diego for a three-game series beginning Monday.