Yankees home opener blog: News and notes from the 8-2 win over Miami

A Ben Rice blast

Yankees take a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Yankees lead, 5-2, but . . .

The Yankees added another run without a hit, as Austin Wells scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

However . . . they are 0-for-11 with RISP and have left seven men on base.

Yankees 0-for-2 on ABS so far in home opener

The Yankees’ first successful ABS challenge in the Bronx will have to wait.

They went 0-for-2 in the first five innings.

• Ben Rice unsuccessfully challenged a called strike, a pitch that was firmly in the zone, in the second inning before striking out.
• On the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth, Cody Bellinger unsuccessfully challenged a called strike that nicked the bottom of the strike zone, but he still led off the inning with a ground-rule double.

In between homers, Will Warren cruised through five

Will Warren is in a groove through five innings with only two blemishes: a first-inning solo homer by Xavier Edwards and a fifth-inning solo shot by Owen Caissie.

Warren retired 12 straight batters between the two homers and has allowed no other baserunners. He has struck out six and walked none.

He exited the game after giving up two straight two-out singles in the sixth, the last one a tough 48.6-mph, four-foot dribbler that Agustin Ramirez beat out.

Tim Hill enters with men on first and second and two outs and the Yankees leading, 4-2.

Yankees are off and running

The Yankees entered the game with six stolen bases as a team. They tacked on 50% more in the bottom of the second inning with three steals against the Marlins' battery of pitcher Eury Perez and catcher Liam Hicks.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. stole second base after walking to lead off the inning.

He then swiped third base during Jose Caballero's at-bat.

Caballero walked and stole second on the first pitch to Ryan McMahon.

Ultimately, the steals didn't necessarily make much difference in the events of inning as Perez walked McMahon, then walked Trent Grisham to force in a run and then hit Aaron Judge on the inner part of his right bicep to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

First ABS challenge at Yankee Stadium

The first ABS challenge at Yankee Stadium happened during the Yankees’ first at-bat.

Marlins catcher Liam Hicks challenged a ball that made the count 3-and-1 in Trent Grisham’s at-bat.

The call was upheld, much to the delight of the crowd in the Bronx, as the new video board showed that the pitch was 0.2 inches above the strike zone. Grisham walked on the next pitch, and Aaron Judge drove him in with a two-run homer, his third of the season.

Oh, hello there, Mr. Aaron Judge, hitter of home runs

Hey, remember when the Marlins quieted the crowd with a home run two batters into the top of the first inning?

That was, like, so a few minutes ago because Aaron Judge brought the noise back with a home run of his own for the Yankees.

Judge crushed a two-run homer deep to left field to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

It is just Judge's fourth base hit of the season. Of course, three of those hits have been home runs.

For those of you who enjoy early season small sample size statistical jumps, Judge boosted his average 35 points with that one swing.

Marlins strike early

Well, at least it wasn't the first batter of the game.

It took the Marlins two batters to take a little bit of juice out of the Yankees' home opener when Xavier Edwards homered deep to right field off Will Warren for the 1-0 lead. 

Warren retired the next two batters.

For those who watched the intros on YES/Gotham and couldn't hear

Those watching the player introductions on YES Network and then Gotham Sports app were barely able to hear the intros as they were drowned out by a music bed on the broadcast. So for those who couldn't hear them, Newsday's Ben Dickson recording the Yankees' starting lineup intros on his phone from the Stadium.

GIve a listen here: 

Yankees vs. Marlins: Starting lineups for the home opener

YANKEES

1. Trent Grisham, CF
2. Aaron Judge, RF
3. Cody Bellinger, LF
4. Ben Rice, 1B
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B
7. Austin Wells, C
8. Jose Caballero, SS
9. Ryan McMahon, 3B

SP: Will Warren

MARLINS

1. Jakob Marsee, CF
2. Xavier Edwards, 2B
3. Augustin Ramirez, DH
4. Liam Hicks, C
5. Otto Lopez, SS
6. Owen Caissie, RF
7. Connor Norby, 1B
8. Griffin Conine, LF
9. Graham Pauley, 3B

SP: Eury Perez

Yankees opening day pre-game photos

Here's the start of the Yankees' home opener photo gallery with some pre-game shots. We'll update it at the same URL as the day progresses.

In the YES booth today . . .

In case you were wondering, today's announcing team on YES will be Michael Kay, David Cone and Joe Girardi.

Paul O'Neill has yet to make his 2026 booth debut.

'It's always special'

The Yankees already have played six games, but that doesn’t make the home opener in the Bronx any less special for manager Aaron Boone.

“Opening Day is a big thing in Major League Baseball, and I think a lot of you know my feelings about it,” Boone said. “But then getting the opportunity to do it here as a Yankee in Yankee Stadium, it's a great day. It's an exciting day. For me, it’s getting back home after being away for a couple months, so that's awesome. It's always special. I know guys are excited about it, and hopefully kick off a good homestand with a good Opening Day.”

A home opener six games into the season is still 'cool'

The red, white and blue bunting will be on display, as well as MLB’s “Opening Week” logo painted on the field.

After opening the 2026 season on the road with six games on the West Coast, the Yankees host the Marlins Friday afternoon in their home opener at the Stadium. It is, more or less, a second Opening Day for the Yankees and, in some ways, a third Opening Day. After last Wednesday’s Opening Night game in San Francisco – entirely a production of Netflix and Major League Baseball – the Giants on Friday went ahead with their own Opening Day festivities, doing them the way they wanted to and not at the mercy of the league and a streaming service.

Meanwhile, is there a difference for the players in having Opening Day at home vs. on the road and then having their own home opener a week or so later? Call it a distinction without a difference, for the players and, one assumes, for the fans.

“Obviously, the extracurricular stuff outside of the game is going to go on and it’s going to be exciting for everybody and the fans are going to be really into it,” said Will Warren, who will start Friday’s home opener. “Cam [Schlittler] even made the joke, he was like, ‘It’s going to be sick, dude. They’re going to be announcing everybody and they’re going to say, ‘starting pitcher, No. 29, and the fans are going to go crazy.’ I didn’t think about that. That’ll be cool.”

Aaron Judge has been here before

Baseball players don't win MVP awards in March. Or April. 

So Yankees fans shouldn't be all that concerned about Aaron Judge's 3-for-24 start to this season. He's done this before, actually, and, well, his three MVP awards and four 50-plus homer seasons suggest that this six-game start to this season will mean very little as the year unfolds.

But since we only have six games so far to discuss amongst each other, here's a look at how Judge has done in his first six games of each season since 2017.

Some interesting Yankees notes and nuggets

In perusing the Yankees' game notes for today, here are a few things that jump out beyond the obvious you already know (i.e., the starting pitcher have been ridiculously good over the first six games):

- Since 2017, the Yankees are 134-90 (.598) in March/April, which is the best record in MLB in that time span.

- In Will Warren's 16 starts at Yankee Stadium last season, he went 7-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 2025, and allowed two or less earned runs i 11 of those starts.

- The Yankees are 13-for-16 in ABS challenges so far, good for an 81.2% success rate. That's quite a few points higher than the MLB average success rate of 55.4%. Only the Twins have challenged more calls with 26. 

- Everyone loves a good RISP stat (once they learn what the acronym stands for, that is), so here goes: Yankees batters have slashed .317/.356/.585 (13-for-41) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 18 RBI, 3 walks and 1 sacrifice fly with RISP this season.

- On this day in Yankees history, according to the SABR Baseball Biography Project: Back in 1919, Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie defeated an ostrich named “Percy” in a spaghetti-eating contest in spring training. Bodie outlasted the ostrich, who passed out after his 11th plate of pasta.

Giancarlo's great start

Giancarlo Stanton, whose injury history since joining the Yankees before the 2018 season has been well-documented — he spent time on the injured list each year from 2019-25 — had a healthy and productive spring training, and it’s been more of the same one week into the regular season.

Stanton, given Wednesday afternoon off, recorded multiple hits in each of the Yankees’ first five games for a 10-for-20 start. He became the fourth player in franchise history to have multiple hits in each of the Yankees’ first five games, joining Alfonso Soriano (2003), Bill Skowron (1956) and Bob Meusel (1928); the latter trio each did it in the first six games of those seasons.

What's new to eat at Yankee Stadium this season?

Yankee Stadium unveiled its new food menu for 2026, with 20 new items added for this baseball season. It features legendary spots, the return of celebrity chefs and the addition of a new family business that went from a bake sale to the big leagues.

Above is the video, below are some photos and here are the words to explain it all. 

Hello there, brand new Yankee Stadium scoreboard

When fans walk into Yankee Stadium on Friday for the home opener, they will see something new: an upgraded (albeit the same size) scoreboard in centerfield plus new video boards around the same. 

Here's Anthony Rieber's story about the upgrades from earlier this week. 

The home opener ceremony particulars

Pre-game ceremonies will start around 1 p.m. and first pitch against the Marlins is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. as the Yankees return to the Yankee Stadium for the first time this season. 

National anthem: Tony Award winner Nikki M. James

Ceremonial first pitch: Olympic hockey gold medalists Jack Hughes and Aerin Frankel

"God Bless America" at 7th-inning stretch: U.S. Army Sergeant Major Carla Loy Song

Veteran of the Game: U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sargeant Mayra Winnie