Yankees' Aaron Judge hits 2-run homer to end 0-for-7 start to season as New York tops Giants 3-0

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the sixth to end an 0-for-7 start to his year after the two-time reigning AL MVP had a strike call overturned by the automated system earlier in the same at-bat when he challenged, and the New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on Friday.

After going hitless on opening day for the first time in the Yankees' shutout win two days earlier, Judge connected on a 405-foot drive to left with an exit velocity of 109.1 mph that broke up a scoreless game and marked his fourth career home run off Robbie Ray (0-1).

The ball bounced off a staircase just inside the foul pole.

It was the seventh pitch he saw from Ray, and fifth after the slugger challenged a strike call — an 86.1 mph slider — from plate umpire Chad Fairchild and had it overturned to a ball by the so-called robot umpire.

The Giants, who had just one hit, are the first team to be shut out with five or fewer combined hits over the first two games of a season.

Judge was booed again by the sellout home crowd of 40,273 after he chose to stay with New York as a free agent in December 2022 on a $360 million, nine-year contract rather than return home to his native California and join San Francisco.

Giancarlo Stanton homered two batters later to greet Giants reliever José Buttó to back right-hander Cam Schlittler (1-0).

Tony Vitello will have to try again Saturday for his first managerial victory after losing his debut Wednesday, when the Yankees opened the MLB schedule by blanking San Francisco 7-0 despite Judge's 0-for-5 day featuring four strikeouts.

Vitello became the ninth manager in baseball history to be shut out in each of his first two games with a team, and seventh manager to do so in his first two games overall, according to Sportradar.

Heliot Ramos doubled in the second for San Francisco's only hit after the Giants managed just three hits Wednesday.

David Bednar finished for his first save.

The 18 consecutive innings without scoring to start the season are the longest for the Giants since going 17 straight in 2019. The longest for the franchise since 1901 is 20 straight innings without a run to start was in 1909, according to Sportradar.

RHP Will Warren takes the mound for the Yankees in the series finale Saturday opposite Giants RHP Tyler Mahle in his San Francisco debut.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

San Francisco Giants pitcher Robbie Ray works against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge reacts after striking out during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, is congratulated by Giancarlo Stanton (27) after hitting a two-run home run that also scored Paul Goldschmidt during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, hits a two-run home run next to San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey during the sixth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton, left, is congratulated by Aaron Judge after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 7 million student loan borrowers who have been enrolled in a Biden-era repayment plan will receive notices beginning Friday with instructions to seek a new plan to repay their debt, the Education Department said.

Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan, which was struck down by a federal court earlier this month, have been in forbearance since July 2024 as a legal battle played out in courts. Starting July 1, loan servicers will begin issuing notices giving borrowers 90 days to select a new repayment plan.

The available repayment plans will mean higher monthly payments for most of those borrowers.

When Alexis Arredondo graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2024 with a degree in microbiology, he struggled to find full-time work in research or public health. Instead, he began working part-time and freelancing for nonprofits in Southern California.

A first-generation college student, he took on roughly $40,000 in student debt and enrolled in the SAVE plan upon graduation. Now, he said, he has to choose between paying more per month, which would be a struggle to afford, or a longer repayment period, which would increase how much he pays in interest.

“It’s very difficult knowing where I’m going to be to able to get this money from,” he said.

The SAVE plan was among several initiatives launched by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to reduce Americans’ student debt burden.

Under President Donald Trump, a Republican, “The days of unlawful loan forgiveness are behind us,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said.

“Let me be clear, the Trump administration’s perspective is that when a student takes out a loan, they are responsible for repaying it,” Kent told The Associated Press.

The SAVE plan provided more lenient terms than other repayment plans, reducing loan payments to as little as 5% of a borrower's discretionary income and offering forgiveness for borrowers who made payments for at least 10 years and originally borrowed $12,000 or less.

While the court challenges played out, borrowers enrolled in the plan have not been required to make payments. But debt balances began accruing interest following a court ruling last summer that blocked implementation of the SAVE plan, meaning some students will see increases in the amount they owe.

Borrowers have felt whiplash as the challenges to the SAVE plan worked their way through court, said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.

“Over and over again, education officials of both parties made promises about fixing the broken student loan system and called student debt a crisis,” he said. “And yet today, these same borrowers are being told it’s time to pay and you have no good options.”

The most forgiving income-based repayment plan now is calculated off at least 10% of an individual’s discretionary income.

Last year, the Trump administration and Congress made several changes to student loan repayment options that will take effect over the next two years. For one, new student loans will no longer have the option of deferment because of unemployment or economic hardship.

“You’re talking about a pressing current affordability crisis, and you took away the most affordable plan option,” said Alexander Lundrigan, policy and advocacy manager at Young Invincibles, an advocacy group.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit struck down the SAVE plan. The Education Department's notices to borrowers beginning Friday will direct them to enroll in a plan and resume making payments as soon as this summer.

Borrowers will be contacted by their loan servicers in stages, with a new group receiving word every two weeks. Those who had been enrolled in the SAVE plan the longest will be the first to receive notices.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)