2023 Opening Day pitching matchups announced
Major League Baseball, in conjunction with the 30 Clubs, announced today the pitching matchups for all 15 Opening Day contests scheduled to be played on Thursday, March 30th. With all 30 Clubs scheduled to play on Opening Day presented by Chevrolet, it would mark the first season since 1968 that every team across the Majors opened the season on the same date.
The 15 games on Opening Day will feature nine divisional contests and three Interleague games. The World Champion Houston Astros will open their campaign against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park at 7:08 p.m. (ET)/6:08 p.m. (CT) on ESPN’s exclusive national broadcast.
Opening Day will also feature the first MLB Network Showcase game of 2023 with the San Francisco Giants visiting the New York Yankees at 1:05 p.m. (ET). MLB Central (9:00 a.m. ET), High Heat (11:00 a.m. ET) start MLB Network’s live content, plus MLB Tonight (12:00 p.m. ET) will lead up to and follow the game.
The 2023 Opening Day pitching matchups across the Majors feature:
2023 OPENING DAY PITCHING MATCHUPS
Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves @ Nationals Park (1:05 p.m. ET)
Patrick Corbin vs. Max Fried
Washington’s Patrick Corbin will make his third career and second straight Opening Day start. In addition to last season’s opener, the two-time All-Star (2013, 2018) opened the 2018 season for Arizona. Since their debut season in 2005, the Nationals have only used five different Opening Day starters (also Livan Hernandez, John Lannan, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg).
Atlanta’s Max Fried, coming off his first All-Star campaign, is set to make his third career and third consecutive Opening Day start for the Braves. He is already the first Braves left-hander to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Hall of Famer Warren Spahn started six straight (1957-62).
New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants @ Yankee Stadium (1:05 p.m. ET)
Gerrit Cole vs. Logan Webb
New York’s Gerrit Cole will make his fifth career Opening Day start and his fourth with the Yankees, becoming the 11th pitcher in franchise history to make at least four Opening Day starts with the club. Additionally, the five-time All-Star will become the fifth Yankees hurler to make four consecutive Opening Day starts, joining Lefty Gomez (6), CC Sabathia (6), Jack Chesbro (4) and Mel Stottlemyre (4).
San Francisco’s Logan Webb is making his second career and second consecutive Opening Day start for the Giants, and will become the first Giants pitcher to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Madison Bumgarner (four straight, 2014-17).
Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles @ Fenway Park (2:10 p.m. ET)
Corey Kluber vs. Kyle Gibson
Boston’s Corey Kluber will make his Red Sox debut in the Opening Day start. The two-time Cy Young Award winner (2014, 2017) and three-time All-Star (2016-18) will be the first Red Sox hurler since David Price in 2016 to make his Boston debut with a start on Opening Day.
Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson will also make his Orioles debut with the Opening Day start. The 2021 All-Star will make his second career Opening Day start following his start for Texas in the 2021 opener. Gibson will become the second O’s pitcher in four seasons to make his Baltimore debut with a start on Opening Day, joining Tommy Milone (2020).
Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers @ Wrigley Field (2:20 p.m. ET/1:20 p.m. CT)
Marcus Stroman vs. Corbin Burnes
Chicago’s Marcus Stroman will make his first Opening Day start for the Cubs and his third career Opening Day start overall, following Opening Day starts in 2016 and 2019 with Toronto. Stroman will become the first Cubs pitcher other than Kyle Hendricks to take the mound on Opening Day since Jon Lester in 2019.
Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes will make his second career and second consecutive Opening Day start for the Brewers. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star (2021-22) posted career-highs in 2022 with 12 wins, 33 starts, 202.0 innings pitched and a Major League-leading 243 strikeouts.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Detroit Tigers @ Tropicana Field (3:10 p.m. ET)
Shane McClanahan vs. Eduardo Rodriguez
Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan will make his second career and second straight Opening Day start for the Rays. He will become the first Rays starter to receive consecutive Opening Day nods since Chris Archer made four straight Opening Day starts from 2015-18.
Detroit’s Eduardo Rodriguez will make his second career and second consecutive Opening Day start for the Tigers. He will become the first Tigers left-hander to make at least two straight Opening Day starts since Mickey Lolich made five Opening Day starts in a row from 1970-74.
Texas Rangers vs. Philadelphia Phillies @ Globe Life Park (4:05 p.m. ET/3:05 p.m. CT)
Jacob deGrom vs. Aaron Nola
Texas’ Jacob deGrom will make his fourth career Opening Day start and his first with the Rangers. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner (2018-19) made three consecutive Opening Day starts for the Mets from 2019-21. The four-time All-Star (2015, 2018-19, 2021) will become the second straight Rangers hurler to make his debut with a start on Opening Day following Jon Gray’s season-opening start in 2022.
Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola is set to make his sixth consecutive Opening Day start for the Phillies. The 2018 NL All-Star will join Hall of Famers Robin Roberts (12 straight, 1950-61) and Steve Carlton (10 straight, 1977-86) as the only pitchers in club history to make at least six Opening Day starts.
Miami Marlins vs. New York Mets @ loanDepot park (4:10 p.m. ET)
Sandy Alcantara vs. Max Scherzer
Miami’s Sandy Alcantara will make his fourth straight Opening Day start for the Marlins. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star (2019, 2022) will become the first pitcher in Marlins history to toe the rubber four consecutive times on Opening Day, surpassing the previous mark of three, which was held by Josh Beckett (2003-05) and Josh Johnson (2010-12). Alcantara is one of three pitchers in the Majors scheduled to make a fourth consecutive Opening Day start with the same team, joining Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (sixth) and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (fourth).
New York’s Max Scherzer will make his first Opening Day start with the Mets and his seventh career Opening Day assignment following six with the Nationals. The three-time Cy Young Award winner (2013, 2016-17) and eight-time All-Star is one of just five pitchers in the Modern Era (since 1900) to record at least three Opening Day outings of at least 10 strikeouts, joining Hall of Famers Randy Johnson (4), Pedro Martínez (3) and Bob Gibson (3), as well as Felix Hernández (3). Scherzer is the only one to do it in three straight seasons (2018-20).
The matchup between Alcantara and Scherzer marks the second consecutive season that Cy Young Award winners square off on Opening Day. Last season, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (2020 AL CYA) matched up against Kansas City’s Zack Greinke (2009 AL CYA).
Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates @ Great American Ball Park (4:10 p.m. ET)
Hunter Greene vs. Mitch Keller
Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene will make his first career Opening Day start for the Reds. The 23-year-old right-hander fanned 164 batters over 125.2 innings pitched as a rookie in 2022. He will become the 11th-youngest Opening Day pitcher for the Reds in franchise history, and the youngest since 22-year-old Frank Pastore started the season opener in 1980.
Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller will also make his first career Opening Day start for the Pirates. The right-hander will become the eighth straight different Opening Day starter for Pittsburgh following Opening Day assignments for Francisco Liriano (2016), Gerrit Cole (2017), Ivan Nova (2018), Jameson Taillon (2019), Joe Musgrove (2020), Chad Kuhl (2021) and JT Brubaker (2022).
San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies @ Petco Park (4:10 p.m. ET/1:10 p.m. PT)
Blake Snell vs. Germán Márquez
San Diego’s Blake Snell will make his second career Opening Day start and his first with the Padres following a 2019 Opening Day assignment with Tampa Bay. The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner and AL All-Star will be San Diego’s first left-handed Opening Day starter since 2019 (Eric Lauer).
Colorado’s Germán Márquez will make his third career Opening Day start for the Rockies and will become the first pitcher in franchise history to do so. The 2021 All-Star also took the mound on Opening Day for Colorado in 2020 and 2021. Previously, eight different Rockies pitchers had two Opening Day starting assignments (Aaron Cook, Jorge De La Rosa, Jon Gray, Mike Hampton, Jason Jennings, Ubaldo Jiménez, Darryl Kile and Kevin Ritz).
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Toronto Blue Jays @ Busch Stadium (4:10 p.m. ET/3:10 p.m. CT)
Miles Mikolas vs. Alek Manoah
St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas will make his second career Opening Day start for the Cardinals following the 2019 assignment for St. Louis at Milwaukee. The two-time All-Star (2018, 2022) won 12 games in 2022 and set career-bests with 202.1 innings pitched and 153 strikeouts.
Toronto’s Alek Manoah will take the mound for his first career Opening Day start for the Blue Jays. The 2022 AL All-Star finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting last season after going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts across 196.2 innings pitched.
Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins @ Kauffman Stadium (4:10 p.m. ET/3:10 p.m. CT)
Zack Greinke vs. Pablo López
Kansas City’s Zack Greinke is making his seventh career Opening Day start and third overall with the Royals (also 2010 and 2022). The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner also started on Opening Day for Arizona (2016 and 2017) and Houston (2019 and 2020). The six-time All-Star will be the first Royals pitcher to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Danny Duffy in 2017-18.
Minnesota’s Pablo López will make his first career Opening Day start in his Twins debut. The 27-year-old native of Venezuela will become the first Twins pitcher to start on Opening Day in his club debut since Jake Odorizzi in 2018. The right-hander set career-highs in 2022 with 10 wins, 32 starts, 180.0 innings pitched and 174 strikeouts.
Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox @ Minute Maid Park (7:08 p.m. ET/6:08 p.m. CT)
Framber Valdez vs. Dylan Cease
Houston’s Framber Valdez will make his second straight Opening Day start for the Astros. The 29-year-old native of the Dominican Republic will become the first Astros left-hander to start on consecutive Opening Days since Dallas Keuchel (2015-17). The 2022 AL All-Star finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 after posting a career-best 17 wins and 201.1 innings pitched.
Chicago’s Dylan Cease will make his first career Opening Day start for the White Sox. The 27-year-old right-hander will become the first Opening Day starter for the White Sox other than Lucas Giolito since 2019, when Carlos Rodón toed the rubber. Cease has a combined 553 strikeouts over the previous two seasons.
Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Coliseum (10:07 p.m. ET/7:07 p.m. PT)
Kyle Muller vs. Shohei Ohtani
Oakland’s Kyle Muller will make his first career Opening Day start in his A’s debut. The 25-year-old will become the first left-hander to start on Opening Day for Oakland since Rich Hill in 2016, and he will be the seventh different A’s opener in the last nine seasons (also: Sonny Gray, Hill, Kendall Graveman, Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas and Chris Bassitt). Muller will also be the first Oakland hurler since Hill in 2016 to start on Opening Day in his team debut.
Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani will make his second straight Opening Day start for the Angels. The two-way phenom will become the first Halos starter to receive consecutive Opening Day assignments since Jered Weaver made six straight from 2010-15. The two-time All-Star set career-highs on the mound in 2022 with 15 wins, a 2.33 ERA, 28 starts, 166.0 innings pitched and 219 strikeouts.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona D-backs @ Dodger Stadium (10:10 p.m. ET/7:10 p.m. PT)
Julio Urías vs. Zac Gallen
Los Angeles’ Julio Urías will make his first career Opening Day start for the Dodgers. The 26-year-old left-hander and native of Culiacan, Mexico becomes the first Dodgers pitcher from Mexico to start on Opening Day since Fernando Valenzuela in 1988. Overall, Urías will become the first pitcher in the Majors from Mexico to draw an Opening Day start since Marco Estrada in 2017.
Arizona’s Zac Gallen will make his first career Opening Day start for the D-backs. The 27-year-old right-hander will become the first starter for Arizona other than Madison Bumgarner since 2019, when Zack Greinke received the Opening Day nod. Gallen posted career-bests in 2022 with 12 wins, a 2.54 ERA, 184.0 innings pitched and 192 strikeouts.
Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Guardians @ T-Mobile Park (10:10 p.m. ET/7:10 p.m. PT)
Luis Castillo vs. Shane Bieber
Seattle’s Luis Castillo will make his third career Opening Day start and first with the Mariners. The 30-year-old native of the Dominican Republic previously made two Opening Day starts with the Reds in 2019 and 2021. The two-time All-Star (2019, 2022) will be Seattle’s first right-hander to start on Opening Day since Felix Hernández made 10 straight starts to open the season from 2009-18.
Cleveland’s Shane Bieber will make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start for the Guardians. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star (2019, 2021) will join Stan Coveleski (5), Corey Kluber (5), Bob Feller (4) and Gaylord Perry (4) as the only hurlers in Cleveland history to make at least four straight Opening Day starts.