SAN FRANCISCO ― It was a beautiful day in the Bay and a perfect evening for Major League Baseball as a sold-out Oracle Park had all the vibes on a 65-degree peak day.
Red, white and blue streamers dropped in the stands to celebrate the start of the new season.
Opening Day was highly anticipated for the 40,856 in attendance, but the home fans left disappointed as theNew York Yankeesshut out theSan Francisco Giants, 7-0.
There's been lots of commotion surrounding the Giants' offseason splash hire to bring inTony Vitello as new managerwith no prior major league experience. Vitello had a stellar stint atTennessee where he led the Volunteersto multiple College World Series appearances and won the national title in 2024.
His debut in the majors wasn't as favorable – a lopsided loss.
"On a personal level, but also the whole team, everybody would like a better result, but the results are going to fluctuate," Vitello told reporters after the game. "I think the biggest thing is, I guess ... a more competitive effort would have been better."
A general view as a smoke flag fires during the national anthem before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees on Opening Day at Oracle Park on March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, Calif." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Baseball returns as Yankees, Giants face off in start to MLB season
A general view as a smoke flag fires during the national anthem before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees onOpening Dayat Oracle Park on March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, Calif.
More MLB:Yankees blank Giants in blowout MLB Opening Day win: Score, highlights
Pitching disparity: Webb vs. Fried
The starting pitchers for Opening Day were the Yankees' Max Fried and Giants' Logan Webb. It was a vast difference in performance with Fried allowing only two hits and no runs.
Webb, on the other hand threw 86 pitches, 58 strikes with seven strikeouts in total. He allowed nine hits and seven runs. The only positive takeaway from Webb's day was that he struck out Judge three times in a little over five innings. But he couldn't "care less" if it doesn't come with a win.
"I did a bad job today," Webb said. "It just sucks that I put our team in the position that we were in. First inning was great. Second inning get [Ben Rice] to ground out on the first pitch of the inning. Then just all hell broke loose."
The Yankees did the majority of their damage in that second inning. He allowed five hits, resulting in five runs, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead and they never looked back.
"It's quirky how it worked out for Webby, because a couple of those innings, he absolutely rolled," Vitello said. "And then again, they seem to have had the formula for stacking hits tonight. ... Maybe we look back as a group and the excitement of being the home team and the hype going into it and kind of a new vibe and things like that."
He added: "You certainly want to make adjustments, because we want to perform better and make it a more competitive situation, no matter what night it is or who the opponent is."
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Giants all-in on Vitello
There was a lot going into the game. Opening Day fireworks. Yankees in town. Netflix making its MLB broadcast debut and the ABS challenge replay system going into effect.
But the talk around San Francisco was the debut of Vitello.
His hire raised questions for some around baseball, but the Giants dugout only has positive reviews.
"We wanted to win today for a number of reasons," Giants third baseman Matt Chapman told USA TODAY Sports. "[It'd] be cool to get Tony that first win on Opening Day, but it didn't happen. The thing that Tony's been great with, he does bring a lot of energy. He's the same guy every day."
He added: "He knows winning baseball, he doesn't have professional experience, but he came in and kind of hit the ground running. For guys that have been around for a long time, we're on board with everything he's doing. He seems like he's been here before, you know, even though he hasn't. That's why Buster [Posey] picked him. And I fully expect you guys to see throughout the course of the season, you know, why he's here."
A legend's encouragement
If there's anyone who can relate to the nerves that Vitello felt before his Major League debut, it's baseball legend Dusty Baker.
Baker, cooler than the Pacific Ocean breeze sweeping through Oracle Park, kicked back in the Giants' dugout just hours before the first pitch to lead off another MLB season and their 69th year in San Francisco.
"This is the start of the long race. ... you know, you hope that you're still playing in late October. And this is a beautiful day to start the season, a beautiful place," Baker told USA TODAY Sports.
Baker is no stranger to San Francisco. He's coached the Giants from 1988 to 1992, before being named manager from 1993 to 2002. Unlike Vitello, Baker played in the big leagues, carving out an 18-year career cemented with a World Series ring.
"I'm sure he's nervous. I was nervous before my first game," Baker said. "I remember what it was like. You wonder if you're going to win or not, start off 1-0, and it was against Tony LaRussa and the Cardinals, and, man, we beat them."
Vitello didn't have the same start to his managerial career but Baker advised those rooting for the orange and black to give him time.
"I know he doesn't have any experience at the major league level, but he has he has a lot of experience at the college level. And any experience is better, no experience," Baker said. "There are quite a few managers around don't have any experience doing anything. So, I think he's gonna be fine because there are a lot of managers that don't have the experience that he has."
He added: "You just gotta give him a chance. That's the thing. You know, just give him a chance and then you got to give him more than a year to make the adjustment. That's why they gave him a three-year contract."
The Giants are 0-1, but on a positive note there are 161 more chances for Vitello to nab that covenant first MLB win as manager.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Giants crushed by Yankees in manager Tony Vitello's MLB debut
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