SAN FRANCISCO — The New York Yankees entered the 2026 season with their pitching staff surrounded by questions. Gerrit Cole was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Carlos Rodon had not been cleared after elbow surgery. Critics pointed to a thin rotation and untested bullpen as reasons this Yankees team would fall short.
Three games into the season, those doubts are fading fast.
The Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Saturday with a 3-1 victory. Across the series, Yankees pitching surrendered just one run in 27 innings. That is the fewest runs allowed through three games in franchise history.
Yankees starters set the tone from opening pitch
It started on Opening Night with Max Fried, who held the Giants to two hits across 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The Yankees rolled to a 7-0 win behind 12 hits off San Francisco ace Logan Webb.
Cam Schlittler followed on Friday with an even more dominant and record outing. The 25-year-old right-hander tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts. His fastball averaged 98.5 mph, and seven of his eight punchouts came on pitches at 95 mph or above.
Together, Fried and Schlittler delivered back-to-back scoreless starts to open a Yankees season for just the second time in club history, matching Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in 2003.
Yankees pitching depth shows up in the finale
Saturday’s finale was the tightest contest. Will Warren held the Giants to one run across 4 1/3 innings, striking out Luis Arraez and Devers to escape a third-inning jam after San Francisco broke its 20-inning scoreless drought on a Matt Chapman RBI single.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake credited Warren’s offseason adjustments. He moved to the third-base side of the rubber this spring for added deception.
“Obviously, he had a lot of growth last year and built on it this offseason,” Blake said. “He moved over on the rubber for a little more deception. That’s played well. It’s given him more space in the zone for the sweeper, which I think has been a huge addition to the attack plan.”
Warren posted a 1.42 ERA in spring training. The Yankees believe he is ready to hold a rotation spot while Cole and Rodon work their way back.
Yankees bullpen answers early skeptics
The Yankees bullpen entered the year as the roster’s biggest question mark. Through three games, it posted 11 scoreless innings.
Jake Bird earned the win Saturday with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He entered in the sixth with a runner on second and nobody out, struck out Willy Adames and got Harrison Bader to ground into a double play. David Bednar secured his second save by escaping a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth with a strikeout and a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Former Giant Camilo Doval also made his mark during the series. He returned to Oracle Park in Friday’s Game 2 and struck out the side in the eighth, retiring ex-teammates Ramos, Schmitt and Bailey. The Yankees turned four double plays Saturday, three in the final four innings.
Yankees players embrace their pitching identity
Aaron Judge, who homered in each of the final two games, said the Yankees made finishing the sweep a priority.
“That was one thing the past couple years we’ve struggled at, is finishing off series and sweeping series,” Judge said. “That’s what’s going to make the difference between winning the division or ending up tied and losing it.”
Ben Rice, whose two-run double gave the Yankees the lead Saturday, praised the collective effort.
“Some tight games, great plays on defense, clutch pitching, clutch hitting,” Rice said. “It was a great way to start the year.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone pointed to the team’s versatility after the opener.
“On a night when we didn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, we had a lot of good pressurized at-bats,” Boone said. “We can beat you in a lot of different ways.”
The scariest part for the rest of the American League: the Yankees rotation will only get deeper. Cole could return by late May. Rodon, who won 18 games with a 3.09 ERA in 2025, may be back by late April. Luis Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, is expected to join the rotation on April 11.
“We feel like our depth is good, especially, hopefully, to get us through the early parts of the season,” Boone said, “and then be in a stronger position as the calendar unfolds into the summer months.”
The Bronx Bombers now head to Seattle for a three-game set against the Mariners starting Monday. Ryan Weathers makes his Yankees debut against Luis Castillo at 9:40 p.m. ET on YES Network.
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