Good start?

The 2026 season will begin soon. On Opening Night, the Giants will host the Yankees. Logan Webb will take the mound for the Giants. At the same time, Max Fried will start for the Yankees. While looking at the matchup, I’m just wondering about their opening day starters over the last several seasons. Did those starters do a good job on the first day of the regular season?

 

To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great baseball reference website.

 

To make things easier, let’s look back at their opening day starters thus far this decade.

 

In 2020, Johnny Cueto took the mound for the Giants on opening day. He went 4 innings against the Dodgers, giving up 5 hits and 1 run (earned). Also, he struck out 3 batters. The next season, the Giants named Kevin Gausman the opening day starter. Gausman threw 6.2 innings against the Mariners, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks. He only gave up 1 run (earned) while striking out 6.

 

In addition, from 2022 to 2025, Logan Webb took the mound for the Giants in the first game of the regular season each year. In 2022, he went 6 innings against the Marlins, giving up 5 hits and 1 earned run. He threw 3 strikeouts in his first opening day start. In 2023, Webb tossed 6 innings against the Yankees. He threw 12 strikeouts. However, he gave up 2 home runs and 4 runs (all earned). He took a loss on the 2023 opening day.

 

Moreover, in 2024, Webb tossed 6 innings against the Padres. He struck out 5 batters and allowed 2 runs (all earned). Last season, he threw 5 innings against the Reds in the first game of the season. Webb allowed 3 walks and 6 hits while striking out 5. He gave up 3 runs (all earned).

 

Now, let’s look at the Yankees side. From 2020 to 2023, Gerrit Cole made 4 consecutive opening day starts. In 2020, he went 5 innings for his first start as a Yankee. Cole threw 5 innings against the Nationals, giving up 1 run (earned) with 5 strikeouts. The next year, he threw 5.1 innings against the Blue Jays on opening day. Cole struck out 8 batters. He gave up a home run and 2 runs (all earned).

 

In 2022, Cole took the mound against the Red Sox on opening day. He gave up 3 runs (all earned) in 4 innings. In 2023, Cole did a great job against the Giants on opening day. He struck out 11 batters over 6 innings. In particular, he didn’t give up any runs.

 

Finally, let’s look at the Yankees’ opening day starters over the last 2 seasons. In 2024, Nestor Cortes was the opening day starter for the Yankees. He went 5 innings, giving 4 runs (all earned). Last season, Carlos Rodon took the mound for the Yankees on opening day, he struck out 7 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up 1 run (earned).

 

When we look back at the last 6 seasons, the Giants and the Yankees each used 3 different starters on opening day. Most of the time, they went at least 5 innings. Interestingly, these 2 teams did face each other on the 2023 opening day. Gerrit Cole did a great job and got the win. This year, Logan Webb and Max Fried are going to take the mound. Are they both going at least 5 innings on the first day of the season?