Yankees use dominant pitching, timely hitting in sweep of Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — The shutout streak is over, but the winning streak remains alive and well.

At long last, the Yankees finally allowed a run after starting the season with 20 straight scoreless innings from their pitching staff, but they got enough from their offense and another strong effort from their bullpen to finish the sweep.

For the third straight season, the Yankees are 3-0 after fending off the Giants for a tense 3-1 win Saturday at Oracle Park, capping a well-rounded opening series in which their bullpen was especially clutch.

After Max Fried and Cam Schlittler turned in terrific starts in the first two games, combining for 11 ²/₃ scoreless innings — and relievers accounting for 6 ¹/₃ more — Will Warren held the Giants to one run across 4 ¹/₃ innings Saturday.

The game was then left in the hands of the bullpen, which used a handoff from Brent Headrick to Jake Bird to Tim Hill to David Bednar to secure the win heading into a rare Sunday off day in Seattle.

Bednar played with fire in the ninth when the first two runners reached, but he struck out Harrison Bader and then got Patrick Bailey to ground into a double play to end it — the fourth double play the Yankees turned Saturday, three of them coming in the final four innings.

Bird, in particular, was impressive in a five-out appearance.

He entered with a runner on second and no outs in the sixth inning and gave up a single through the left side to Heliot Ramos. Bird then settled down, striking out Willy Adames and then getting Bader to ground into a double play that was smoothly turned by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and José Caballero.

Hill also used a double-play ball to end the eighth inning, getting former Red Sox player (and Yankees nemesis) Rafael Devers to ground into the twin killing.

While there is still a long way to go for this bullpen to answer some of the questions it faced entering the season — looking like the Yankees’ potential weak spot — it has started the year with 11 scoreless innings.

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As was the case Friday with Aaron Judge, the Yankees used the automated ball-strike system to their advantage to create a key rally.

With one out in the third inning, Tyler Mahle threw a 2-2 pitch to Trent Grisham that home plate umpire Chad Whitson called strike three. But Grisham challenged the pitch and it proved to be high, turning into ball three on the way to a walk.

One out later, Cody Bellinger singled and then Ben Rice drilled a double off the high brick wall in right field that scored both runs for the 2-0 lead.

Giancarlo Stanton followed with his second hit in as many at-bats, but third base coach Luis Rojas waved Rice home and he was tagged out by a few feet to end the frame after a strong throw from Ramos in left field.

Judge later made it 3-1 in the fifth inning with his second home run in as many days. This one came off left-handed reliever Ryan Borucki.

The 383-foot shot flew to left field.

The Giants nearly broke their goose egg in the first inning, when they put runners on the corners with two outs.

Warren then engaged in a battle with Ramos that lasted 10 pitches — including the fastest two pitches of his career at 97.9 and 97.2 mph, both of which were fouled off — before Warren got a 97 mph heater past Ramos to escape the threat.

But the Giants finally got off the schneid in the third inning, which Jung Hoo Lee led off with a double. Matt Chapman followed with a single up the middle that made it a 2-1 game and delighted the crowd that was beginning to get exasperated by the scoring drought.