Yankees Pick Up Fourth Victory of the 2026 Season By Shutting Out the Mariners
The New York Yankees tied the series against the Seattle Mariners after losing their first game of the 2026 season Monday night. With the way his two starts on the mound have been looking, Max Fried could certainly earn himself another 19-win season and even an AL Cy Young Award. During a 5-0 win over the Mariners, the Yankees’ three-time all-star starter went seven innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out six. New York’s offense scored two quick runs in the first; however, the offense looked in sync in the top sixth inning, driving in another three runs to even up the series against Seattle. The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow afternoon and improve to 5-1 as they look towards their home opener against the Miami Marlins. Cam Schlittler will make his second start of the season after posting five solid innings in his first start against the San Francisco Giants.
Judge and McMahon Need to Find Their Groove
Aaron Judge and Ryan McMahon are two bats the Yankees need in their lineup day in and day out if they want to have a successful season. While Judge has two home runs through the first five games, he’s recorded three hits in 20 at-bats. Not something you want to see coming from last year’s AL MVP. McMahon, on the other hand, has one hit in 14 at-bats, currently posting a 0.71 batting average. While we are still extremely early on in the 2026 MLB season, the Yankees could use all the help they can get to establish themselves as a force and an AL contender to the stacked back-to-back World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Hopefully, both players can pick up that confidence with the team making its home opener against a Marlins team that has looked great at 4-1 out of the gate. Yet, Miami played teams like the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies, two infamous bad teams over the past few years. Bashing homers over the Marlins could bring life into the bats of Judge and McMahon
Fried Looked Phenomenal in His First Two Starts
In his first two starts, the three-time all-star starter has pitched 13 and two-thirds innings, allowing no runs, just five hits, and two walks while striking out 10. It’s not like the Giants and Mariners are pushover teams; these are both teams looking to be in the postseason race come October. If Fried can continue this hot stretch on the mound and continue bringing dominance whenever he’s on the mound, he may be in line for another all-star appearance and a Cy-Young Award. With the way he’s pitched thus far, those 19 wins he achieved last season could be easily obtainable.
Yankees Must Keep Winning to Assert Force in AL East
With the Bronx Bombers and the Toronto Blue Jays at 4-1, New York must find a way to continue winning ball games. While the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays are at 2-3, they can easily find a way to turn it around, and the Boston Red Sox are 1-4, yet that doesn’t mean this team goes on a winning streak through the late months of the season and turns themselves back into a postseason contender. With the way the AL East has looked over the past several years, anything is possible. However, the Yankees need to keep winning, finishing out the series strong against the Mariners, and winning series against teams like the Marlins, Athletics, Rays, and the Los Angeles Angels.
