The new season couldn’t have started any sweeter for the Yankees.
The Bronx Bombers torched the Giants, 7-0, behind a splendid start from Max Fried, and they got contributions from all over the lineup. The victory ticked a lot of boxes.
The Yankees and Giants will go back at it Friday afternoon, with the Bombers sitting as -130 road favorites behind Cam Schlittler.
San Francisco will send Robbie Ray to the hill.
Yankees vs. Giants odds, predictions
Opening Day is one of the most anticipated parts of the sporting calendar, but you could argue that Yankee fans will be more excited for Friday’s tilt than they were for Wednesday night thanks to Schlittler’s presence on the bump.
It’s been five months since Schlittler etched his name into Yankee lore with a pair of dominant starts in the playoffs, and the fact that he’s getting the second start of the season (albeit with Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole on the shelf) tells you how highly he’s thought of within the organization.
While Schlittler’s numbers in the postseason sparkled, his regular-season metrics were closer to good than elite. That’s still quite encouraging from a rookie starter, but it should provide some context for what we should expect from the 25-year-old in his first full campaign in the MLB.
Schlittler’s success is built on his ability to keep batters off balance with a fastball that can touch triple-digits. If the right-hander has the 4-seamer working and he’s getting ahead in counts, he’s a chore.
Where Schlittler ran into trouble, at least during the regular season, was handing out too many free passes.
He seemed to nip that problem in the bud down the stretch and into the postseason, but his 10.2 percent walk rate placed him in the 18th percentile among qualified pitchers last season.
His opponent Friday also got bit by the same issue.
Ray, the veteran southpaw, walked 9.7 percent of the batters he saw in 2025, placing him just above Schlittler in the 20th percentile.
Betting on Baseball?
Ray won’t love the prospects of his matchup in his first start, as he’ll take on a Yankee lineup that led the league in just about every category, including walk rate, against left-handed pitching in 2025.
The Yankees are set up to do some serious damage against Ray in this one, but I think the Giants should be able to put some pressure on Schlittler in his first start since he truly burst onto the scene last October.
The Play: Over 8.5 (-102, FanDuel)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.