Here's what to know about Seoul Series Game 1 (6 a.m. ET/3 PT)

The wait is over. Baseball is back. And it’s hard to imagine a better opening act for the 2024 season than this one: an NL West showdown halfway across the world, featuring Major League Baseball’s first regular-season games in South Korea.

Set your alarms. The Padres and Dodgers square off in Game 1 of the Seoul Series on Wednesday morning at 3:05 a.m. PT (6:05 a.m. ET).

The Gocheok SkyDome offers quite a setting for Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers debut. Ohtani -- the offseason’s biggest free-agent prize and the face of the sport -- will be opposed by one of the faces of baseball in Korea. Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim hails from nearby Bucheon and once played his KBO home games in the very same ballpark.

Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s opener:

When is the game, and how can I watch it?

First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. local time in Seoul -- which equates to 6:05 a.m. ET and 3:05 a.m. PT on Wednesday morning. The game will stream in the U.S. on MLB.TV. and will also be televised locally on SportsNet LA in Los Angeles. A national telecast will be available on ESPN.

Fans in San Diego, Tijuana and the Padres' home territory can watch both games live or on demand for FREE on Padres.TV, the re-branded streaming option for all regular season Padres games. Fans can also tune in to watch the games live locally on ESPN or listen on 97.3 The Fan and XEMO-AM La Poderosa 860.

After the game, an archive of the broadcast will be available for free.

Who are the starting pitchers?

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (10-7, 3.53 ERA last season)

Glasnow gets the Game 1 nod, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto slated to start Game 2, as the Dodgers turn to two of their prized pitching acquisitions from the offseason. Los Angeles acquired Glasnow from Tampa Bay in a December trade. Wednesday will mark Glasnow’s second career Opening Day start, after he started the opener for Tampa Bay in 2021.

Padres: RHP Yu Darvish (8-10, 4.56 ERA last season)

It’s the fourth Opening Day start for Darvish and his third as a Padre, with San Diego opting to turn to Darvish ahead of Joe Musgrove, who will start Game 2. Darvish is coming off an injury-riddled 2023 and was shut down in August due to a stress reaction in his right elbow. But he received clearance for a full offseason program in November and has been sharp all spring.

What are the starting lineups?

Dodgers: The Dodgers rolled out their star-studded lineup in the two exhibition games in Seoul, and it has the chance to be one of the most dominant in Major League history. Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman will be leading the way all season long.

• Dodgers announce 26-man roster for Seoul

1) Mookie Betts, SS
2) Shohei Ohtani, DH
3) Freddie Freeman, 1B
4) Will Smith, C
5) Max Muncy, 3B
6) Teoscar Hernández, LF
7) James Outman, CF
8) Jason Heyward, RF
9) Gavin Lux, 2B

Padres: Manny Machado is coming off October elbow surgery and is slated to begin the year as a designated hitter, leaving the Padres with a vacancy at third base. Graham Pauley, Eguy Rosario and Tyler Wade are the candidates to fill it.

Meanwhile, Jackson Merrill has officially made the team and is now formally listed as an outfielder, setting up the career-long shortstop to become the youngest Opening Day center fielder since Andruw Jones in 1996, and just the fourth under the age of 21 in the expansion era (since 1969) -- despite having learned the position on the fly this spring. Merrill will turn 21 on April 19.

• Padres announce 26-man roster for Seoul

1) Xander Bogaerts, 2B
2) Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3) Jake Cronenworth, 1B
4) Manny Machado, DH
5) Ha-Seong Kim, SS
6) Jurickson Profar, LF
7) Luis Campusano, C
8) Tyler Wade, 3B
9) Jackson Merrill, CF

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Dodgers: The Dodgers will navigate their bullpen very similar to what they did to end last season. Evan Phillips will get the majority of save opportunities, but he’ll also be available in high-leverage spots earlier in games. Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly, Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen will also be in high-leverage spots. If the Dodgers need multiple innings out of the bullpen, they’ll have Kyle Hurt, Michael Grove and Ryan Yarbrough ready for multiple frames.

Padres: San Diego never formally named a closer, though that role will almost certainly fall to Robert Suarez, who spent the past couple seasons serving as Josh Hader’s setup man. Steven Wilson, who went to the White Sox in the Dylan Cease trade, is a notable loss. But newcomers Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta could help fill those setup innings. Meanwhile, Michael King, who was acquired as a starter, will be available out of the ‘pen for the two games in Korea.

Any injuries of note?

Dodgers: Brusdar Graterol did not make the trip to South Korea as he continues to work through hip and right shoulder discomfort. The Dodgers hope to have Graterol back at some point early in the season.

Padres: Machado’s October elbow surgery will limit him to DH duties. Otherwise, none.

Who’s hot, who’s not?

Dodgers: Betts, Ohtani and Freeman had terrific springs for the Dodgers. The same can be said for Muncy, James Outman and Hernández. The Dodgers’ lineup doesn’t have many holes this season.

Padres: Merrill put forth a red-hot spring, hitting .351 with a .995 OPS in the Cactus League to earn his starting spot. Kim was similarly excellent, going 8-for-26 (.308) with four extra-base hits in Catcus League play before hitting two homers in an exhibition against the LG Twins on Monday in Korea. Bogaerts, meanwhile, struggled for most of camp, hitting .233 with a .657 OPS.

Anything else fans should know?

• Game 1 counts as a Padres home game (with the two teams flipping for Game 2). That means Ohtani and Darvish are likely to square off in the top of the first inning. Teammates with Team Japan during last year’s run to the World Baseball Classic title, Ohtani and Darvish have never faced each other in the big leagues.

• Bogaerts already owns a place in international baseball history as the only player with home runs in four different countries -- the United States, Canada, England (in London with the Red Sox in 2019) and Mexico (in Mexico City with the Padres in ‘23).

• The Padres and Dodgers have met once before on the international stage, playing three games in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2018. In Game 1 of that series, right-hander Walker Buehler spearheaded a combined no-hitter for the Dodgers, but the Padres would respond by winning the next two games.