Five games into the 2026 season, the New York Yankees have done something the baseball world hasn’t seen in decades. They’ve allowed just three total runs, including three shutouts in five games. That’s right. Three runs in five games.
For context, the rest of Major League Baseball has surrendered an average of 22.4 runs over the same span, per Talkin’ Yanks. The next closest team, the Atlanta Braves, has allowed 11. Nearly four times as many as New York.
It’s a start so suffocating it forces a double take. You have to go back 83 years to find a comparable opening, when the St. Louis Cardinals put together a similar stretch. In an era where teams are putting renewed emphasis on building deep, dominant pitching staffs, the Yankees look like they’re following suit.
At the Helm. Max Fried
At the center of this historic run is Max Fried, and more specifically, the version of him the Yankees are getting right now. The 32 year old lefty has opened 2026 in complete command, setting the tone for a staff that has been nearly untouchable through five games.
Fried’s first two starts have been a masterclass in efficiency and control. On Opening Day, he delivered 6.1 shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants, immediately establishing the standard. He followed that with an even more emphatic performance, seven scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners, a team fresh off an ALCS clinching run and widely regarded as one of the most scrappy and dangerous lineups in baseball.
Across those two outings, Fried has been nearly flawless. 13.1 innings pitched, zero runs allowed, just five hits, two walks, and 10 strikeouts. There has been no traffic, no loss of control, and no moment where he has looked anything less than dominant.
This is not just effectiveness, it is authority. Fried is getting ahead early, forcing weak contact, and dictating the pace of every game he starts. His presence has become the foundation of what the Yankees are doing right now.
What makes it even more significant is that this is not a sudden leap, it is a continuation.
Fried is building directly off an exceptional debut season in pinstripes in 2025, where he immediately established himself as one of the most complete pitchers in the game. He added another Gold Glove to his résumé, earning the American League honor for pitchers, his fourth overall and first with New York.
His defensive impact stood above the rest of the league. According to FanGraphs, Fried led all MLB pitchers with 10 defensive runs saved. He paired that with 39 assists, seven pickoffs, and complete control of the running game. Whether fielding comebackers or dictating tempo, he turned defense into a weapon.
That performance earned him All-Star recognition and a place on the All-MLB First Team, solidifying his standing among the game’s elite. It also placed him in rare Yankees company alongside Ron Guidry, Mike Mussina, and Bobby Shantz, the only pitchers in franchise history to win Gold Gloves.
Now in 2026, Fried is not just leading the rotation, he is molding it.
The Next Wave. Schlittler, Warren, and Weathers
While Max Fried establishes the foundation, the Yankees’ early dominance has been fueled by their emerging arms, especially Cam Schlittler.
Schlittler’s rise has felt inevitable, but what he is doing now goes beyond promise. After a strong finish to 2025 that carried into a memorable postseason, including a historic performance against his hometown Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series, he has carried that momentum directly into this season.
In that winner take all Game 3, Schlittler delivered one of the most dominant outings in postseason history. He threw eight shutout innings, allowed just five hits, struck out 12, and did not issue a single walk. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in MLB postseason history to record at least 12 strikeouts, zero walks, and eight or more innings in a win or go home game.
After flashing serious upside down the stretch and into the postseason last year, Schlittler did not ease into 2026. He attacked it. His Game 2 outing was as clean as it gets. He threw 5.1 innings, allowed one hit, gave up no runs, and struck out eight, all while maintaining complete command from start to finish.
Alongside him, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers each delivered effective first outings, allowing just one run apiece. Those two starts account for two of the three total runs surrendered by the Yankees so far.
The only other run came out of the bullpen, on a walk off single by Cal Raleigh, the reigning MVP runner up and 2025 home run leader.
Even that feels minor when looking at the bullpen as a whole. Across 17 innings, Yankees relievers have allowed just one earned run, consistently shutting down any chance of a comeback.
Reinforcements on the Horizon
As dominant as this start has been, there is another layer to consider. This is not yet the complete version of the Yankees’ pitching staff.
Gerrit Cole, the 2023 Cy Young Award winner, is progressing in his return from Tommy John surgery. His recovery has been encouraging. Cole made a pair of abbreviated appearances during spring training, totaling 2.2 innings. Even in that limited sample, the velocity and sharpness of his pitches stood out.
He is scheduled to throw a batting practice session on April 1. After that, he will head to the minors to continue building up in game situations over the next several weeks. The organization is taking a careful approach, and all indications suggest steady progress, with a return expected sometime between May and June.
In addition, Carlos Rodón provides another established All-Star presence in the rotation, adding further depth and experience.
There is also Luis Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, who is currently continuing his development in the minors. His eventual return gives the Yankees yet another high upside arm waiting in the wings.
When these pieces come together, the ceiling of this staff rises even higher, shifting the conversation from early season dominance to something potentially overwhelming over the full year.
What Is Next
For now, the Yankees sit atop the AL East at 4 and 1, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays. Cam Schlittler will make his second start of the season in a rubber match against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon before finally returning home to the Bronx.
Five games won’t define a season, but they can absolutely tell you what kind of potential a team has. And right now, the New York Yankees don’t just look good, they look different.
Three runs allowed in five games isn’t normal, it isn’t sustainable, and it definitely isn’t something you just brush off.
It’s historic.
