Welcome to MLB Opening Day!
All 30 teams were scheduled to be in action Thursday before rain postponed the scheduled Milwaukee Brewers–New York Mets and Atlanta Braves–Philadelphia Phillies openers to Friday.
The Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles will get things started with new O’s ace Corbin Burnes on the mound at 3:05 p.m. ET. Soon after, things will really heat up with seven games scheduled to begin at 4:10 p.m. ET — highlighted by a New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros showdown in Texas.
Later, the Texas Rangers will raise the first World Series banner in franchise history before taking on the Chicago Cubs in manager Craig Counsell’s team debut (7:35 p.m. ET on ESPN). And, if that wasn’t enough, there are a trio of late-night games on the West Coast, including Luis Castillo and the Seattle Mariners against the Boston Red Sox at 10:10 p.m. ET.
What are we looking for as the season gets started? Our reporters give their pregame takes from the ballpark, plus we’ll post lineups as they are announced and live updates throughout the day, including takeaways from each game as it concludes.
Season preview: Power rankings | Predictions | Moves that rocked offseason
MLB Rank 2024: Who are baseball’s 100 best players? | Snubs, surprises
ESPN+: Passan’s bold predictions, breakout stars | 2024 MLB payroll tiers
Jump to a game:
LAA-BAL | DET-CHW | MIN-KC
NYY-HOU | PIT-MIA | SF-SD
STL-LAD | TOR-TB | WSH-CIN
CHC-TEX | CLE-OAK
BOS-SEA | COL-ARI
Postponed games: MIL-NYM, ATL-PHI
First pitch: 3:05 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Patrick Sandoval vs. Corbin Burnes
The big storyline: The best regular-season team in the American League last year unveils its newest star while the team that lost the biggest one in the game starts anew. Burnes’ Baltimore debut is the main attraction of the afternoon, though after the Orioles ran roughshod through the Grapefruit League, the biggest question is: How good can they be? Extremely is the answer, particularly with the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday, starting the season at Triple-A after slashing .311/.354/.600 in spring training.
Sandoval gets his first Opening Day start after Shohei Ohtani got the nod the past two years. Ohtani’s absence hangs over the Angels, whose lineup includes the return of Mike Trout from the hamate bone injury that kept him out all but one game over the season’s final three months and a menagerie of top prospects and high draft picks.
One fun fact to impress your friends: In his NL Cy Young-winning 2021 season, Burnes started the year with 58 strikeouts before yielding his first walk. He surpassed the previous record of 51, held by Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. The streak broke another mark: 56 consecutive walk-free strikeouts at any point in the season, held by Gerrit Cole and Curt Schilling. Against the 127th batter he faced, St. Louis utilityman Tommy Edman, Burnes walked him on five pitches. — Jeff Passan
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Tarik Skubal vs. Garrett Crochet
The big storyline: The Tigers have been rebuilding for a long time — their last winning season came way back in 2016 — but maybe this is the season they finally break through. They have a couple of interesting rookies joining the lineup in second baseman Colt Keith (the No. 40 overall prospect) and center fielder Parker Meadows (No. 45). Keith is more bat over glove while Meadows is a tooled-up 6-foot-5 plus defender. But the Tigers’ playoff hopes may rest on a dominant season from Skubal, who went 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA and 11.4 K’s per nine in 15 starts last season. His fastball averaged 96.4 mph in his final spring training game and he could be a Cy Young contender.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Crochet is one of the most unlikely Opening Day starters in MLB history, which tells you what to expect from the White Sox in 2024. He’s made 72 appearances in the majors, but all those came in relief, making him just the third pitcher since World War II to make his first career start on Opening Day. The others: Tanner Scheppers for the Rangers in 2014 and Fernando Valenzuela for the Dodgers in 1981. — David Schoenfield
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Pablo Lopez vs. Cole Ragans
The big storyline: One of these teams won the division last year, but fell in the ALDS. The other team matched a franchise record with 106 losses, finishing 31 games out of first place. One of these teams made around $110 million in free agent commitments this offseason; the other just $6.2 million. Who was who? Well, it was the bottom-feeding Royals who spent big over the winter while the Twins … not so much. Can Kansas City possibly close a 31-game deficit in one offseason? It’s a tall order, obviously, but at least the Royals behaved like a team trying to change its fortunes.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: According to ESPN BET, this pitching matchup pits two of the top seven AL Cy Young candidates. Lopez finished seventh a season ago while the emergent Ragans would have been a prime contender if he had put up his Kansas City-only numbers over a full season. Ragans was traded from Texas on June 30 and only four AL starters produced a lower ERA than his 2.64 mark after the All-Star break. — Bradford Doolittle
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Nestor Cortes vs. Framber Valdez
The big storyline: This is a meeting between two rivals expected to compete for the American League pennant. Both rosters are loaded with stars. Both feature intriguing young talents. Both teams splurged on premier talent from San Diego during the offseason (Juan Soto via trade on one side, Josh Hader via free agency on the other). The heated history, of course, is there.
But Thursday’s matchup in particular is as much about who isn’t playing. Former Astros teammates Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander would have been the opening day starters if not for injuries. Cole is dealing with nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. Verlander had a setback with his right shoulder. Two left-handers looking to rebound from disappointing seasons will take the ball in their places.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: The Astros have reached the last seven American League Championship Series, one shy of the longest LCS streak in history. The Braves set the record in the ’90s, advancing to eight straight NLCS. Atlanta won one (1) World Series during that span. The Astros have won two. Yankees fans, of course, would argue that the title in 2017 would’ve been theirs if the Astros weren’t banging trash cans. New York instead hasn’t won a championship since 2009. It’s the franchise’s longest title drought since going without a parade between 1978 and 1996. — Jorge Castillo
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Mitch Keller vs. Jesus Luzardo
The big storyline: Oneil Cruz is back at shortstop for the Pirates after fracturing his ankle nine games into 2023 and he’s looked good in spring training with seven home runs, including several monstrous blasts. Henry Davis, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, struggled as a rookie last season while moving from catcher to right field, but an offseason injury to Endy Rodriguez has Davis back behind the plate and he’s also had a good spring. Other young Pirates include pitcher Jared Jones, the team’s No. 3 prospect who cracked the Opening Day rotation, and Paul Skenes, last year’s No. 1 overall pick who shouldn’t need much time in the minors. If that group delivers, the Pirates have a chance to become this year’s Marlins as a surprise playoff team.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: It’s been a rough spring training for the Miami rotation as Braxton Garrett (shoulder), Eury Perez (elbow) and Edward Cabrera (shoulder) will all begin the season on the IL (on top of Sandy Alcantara already being out for the year). Luzardo will have to step up and he’s a sleeper Cy Young candidate after finishing in the top 10 among NL starters in ERA, strikeout rate and fWAR. — Schoenfield
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Logan Webb vs. Yu Darvish
The big storyline: It’s a matchup of perhaps the two biggest curiosities in baseball this season. The Giants went from a projected fourth-place finish in the NL West to the third-best team in the NL by PECOTA’s projected standings with the signings of reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell and third baseman Matt Chapman. San Francisco had a big winter — but was it really enough to turn them into a playoff team after two disappointing seasons?
The Padres are $60 million lighter in payroll with the trade of Juan Soto and free agent exits of Snell, Josh Hader, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez and more. They added Dylan Cease and Michael King, bulked up their bullpen, continued their positional musical chairs and, after splitting their season-opening series in Korea with the Los Angeles Dodgers, have nearly the same question to answer: Was it really enough to turn them into a playoff team after a disappointing season?
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Like his former Kiwoom Heroes teammate Ha-Seong Kim, new Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee spent seven seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization before entering the posting system as a 25-year-old free agent. Kim walked (four-year, $28 million contract, which expires after this season) so Lee could run (six-year, $113 million deal). Lee has not been the home run hitter in Korea that Kim was, but a .340/.407/.491 line and impeccable pedigree — his dad is Korean baseball legend Jong-Beom Lee, nicknamed Son of the Wind — made the so-called Grandson of the Wind one of the KBO’s most popular players. Oh, and he slashed .414/.485/.586 this spring, so the hype may be real. — Passan
The pitching matchup: Miles Mikolas vs. Tyler Glasnow
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The big storyline: The Dodgers opened their season in South Korea last week and, assuming you woke up really early, you’ve already seen what their lineup looks like with Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman atop it. But since then Ohtani has been embroiled in major controversy while at the center of a betting scandal in which he claims his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole millions of dollars from his accounts and wired them to a bookmaker who is under federal investigation.
This is a story that is poised to hover over the Dodgers all year, as if they weren’t already getting enough attention. How an exceedingly private, global superstar like Ohtani handles it — while living up to the pressure of a $700 million contract and being without Mizuhara, who took care of many aspects of his life since Ohtani came to the United States more than six years ago — will be fascinating to watch. It starts now.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: The Cardinals rewarded Mikolas, a crucial innings-eater in an unstable rotation, with a three-year, $55.75 million extension last March, then watched him navigate a down year that mirrored that of the team around him. Mikolas’ ERA jumped from 3.29 in 2022 to 4.78 in 2023, and it wasn’t just bad BABIP luck. His expected slugging percentage rose to .499, within the bottom 6% of the league. Mikolas has always been a pitch-to-contact guy, but he allowed way too much hard contact last year. His 226 hits allowed led the majors. — Alden Gonzalez
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Jose Berrios vs. Zach Eflin
The big storyline: Two teams that are trying to shake off recent playoff disappointment and figure out how to get a little better in October — but in the AL East, you have to get there first. The Jays were swept in the wild-card series the past two seasons and including the wild-card series in 2020, are now 0-6 in the playoffs this decade. The bottom half of their lineup looks a little soft and closer Jordan Romano is beginning the season on the IL with elbow inflammation. The Rays were also swept in the wild-card series the past two seasons and lost in the ALDS in 2021, giving them a 1-7 record the past three postseasons since their run to the 2020 World Series. The Rays have an entire rotation on the IL, although Eflin is coming off a 16-win season. He’ll need another big season given the concerns with the rest of the rotation.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Everyone — especially the Blue Jays — is wondering whether Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can hit again like he did in 2021, when he hit 48 home runs with a 1.002 OPS and finished second in the AL MVP voting. That was the year the Jays had to play more than half of their home games in Dunedin and Buffalo — and Guerrero absolutely raked in those two parks, hitting .364 with 21 home runs in 44 games. His road numbers the past three seasons have been pretty stable and he really struggled at Rogers Centre in 2023, hitting .238 with a .716 OPS. — Schoenfield
First pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Josiah Gray vs. Frankie Montas
The big storyline: The last time this much excitement accompanied a Reds Opening Day was in 2013, with Cincinnati coming off an NL Central-best 97-win season. A new generation of Reds are here, and while infielder Matt McLain and outfielder TJ Friedl will start the season on the injured list and third baseman Noelvi Marte on the suspended list following a positive PED test, plenty of talent remains: Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and a deep, young rotation. The Reds spent more than $110 million on free agents, including Montas, and they’ll face a Nationals team that is simultaneously growing up with shortstop CJ Abrams and catcher Keibert Ruiz while biding their time until the arrivals of highly touted outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews as well as third baseman Brady House.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Gray, starting his first Opening Day, went to Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, where he mostly played shortstop before transitioning to the starting rotation as a junior. Gray punched out 105 in 93.1 innings and was drafted in the second round in 2018 by … the Cincinnati Reds. They dealt him to the Dodgers in a trade that was ostensibly supposed to be a salary dump for Los Angeles, which two and a half years later moved him to Washington with Ruiz in the Max Scherzer–Trea Turner deal. — Passan
First pitch: 7:35 p.m. ET | ESPN
The pitching matchup: Justin Steele vs. Nathan Eovaldi
The big storyline: Both teams have large-font narratives generating heightened interest in their openers. For the Rangers, it’s a celebration as Texas will raise its first World Series banner before the game. Meanwhile, the Cubs usher in a new era in which the face of the team may well be its new manager, Craig Counsell, who became the highest-paid skipper in history after jumping from one of Chicago’s chief division rivals in the Brewers. Counsell got paid based on a deserved reputation as one of the game’s most well-rounded skippers. Yet when that banner rises, he’ll be admiring the exploits of his opponent, Bruce Bochy, who will be participating in his fourth title celebration as a skipper, or three more titles than the Cubs have won over the last 115 years.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: The magic number for wins in Texas is 102. That’s a high bar but these are the defending champs, after all. If the Rangers hit that total, Bochy’s career total would jump to 2,195 and he’d leap over Joe McCarthy, Bucky Harris, Dusty Baker and Sparky Anderson into sixth on the all-time wins list. And if the Rangers repeat as champs, he’d join McCarthy, Casey Stengel and Connie Mack as the only managers with at least five World Series wins. Yet, from the did-you-know category: Bochy enters the season eight games under .500 for his regular-season career. — Doolittle
First pitch: 10:07 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Shane Bieber vs. Alex Wood
The big storyline: It’s the familiar existential question: If a big league baseball game is played in an empty stadium, does it make a sound? With the A’s on their way out of town, diehard Oakland fans have chosen Opening Day as a way of making a statement. Last year was the year of the Reverse Boycott, where fans showed up en masse on select occasions to show their visceral disregard for ownership. This year, after the team’s decision to abandon Oakland for Las Vegas, the fans have chosen a different approach, the UnReverse Boycott, or Reverse UnBoycott, where they hang out in the parking lot to show ownership they still care — without paying to prove it. The A’s have taken steps to mitigate the bad publicity by opening the parking lot just two hours before game time, but angry A’s fans have proven their resourcefulness.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Stephen Vogt is the Guardians’ new manager. Stephen Vogt is also a cult hero in Oakland, where the chant “We Believe In Stephen Vogt” — accompanied by the drumbeat from the diehards in the right-field bleachers — became an earworm of the last of the Oakland glory days. — Keown
First pitch: 10:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Brayan Bello vs. Luis Castillo
The big storyline: Call this the battle of two playoff contenders who decided not to spend any money this offseason — leaving two very unhappy fan bases. Boston’s payroll is down about $21 million from last season while Seattle’s is down about $1 million. The Red Sox ran the highest payroll in the sport when they won the World Series in 2018 but may not crack the top 10 this season. The Mariners missed the postseason by one win but simply retooled the roster rather than making significant additions. Still, with Julio Rodriguez and what could be one of the sport’s best rotations, the Mariners could challenge for their first division title since 2001 — and maybe even their first World Series appearance.
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Rodriguez had 60 home runs and 62 stolen bases over his first two seasons. Only six other players in MLB history reached 60-60 through their age-22 seasons: Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout, Ken Griffey Jr., Ronald Acuna Jr., Andruw Jones and Cesar Cedeno. Rodriguez will have his sights on a 40-40 season in 2024. — Schoenfield
First pitch: 10:10 p.m. ET
The pitching matchup: Kyle Freeland vs. Zac Gallen
The big storyline: From a national perspective, pretty much all the interest in this game surrounds Arizona, a breakout team in 2023 that won’t be sneaking up on anyone this time around. The Diamondbacks are defending an NL pennant for the second time in their history and as a club built on a foundation of a surfeit of young, high-upside players, they should in theory be better. But can they be improved enough to keep pace in the high-powered NL West? Getting off to a strong start will be a challenge as Arizona is dealing with key injuries in its pitching staff. That list is led by key free agent signee Eduardo Rodriguez (lat strain) and closer Paul Sewald (oblique).
One interesting fact to impress your friends: Arizona star Corbin Carroll is a great all-around player and one of the games’ best young hitters. But where he breaks the scale is on the basepaths. On the surface, you see that he scored 116 runs in 2023 while racking up 10 triples and recording a 54-for-59 success rate on steals. Add it up and Carroll’s plus-12 runs above average in the baserunning component of bWAR was five runs better than any other player in baseball last season, ranked as the best-ever total for a player 22 or younger and was tied for the 12th-best single-season figure in history. You can’t take your eyes off him. — Doolittle