The Braves and Padres are set to begin their 2025 season with a rematch of last year’s National League Wild Card Series -- and the pitching matchup many expected to see in Game 1 of that series.
Chris Sale, who missed last year’s Wild Card Series with a back issue, will take the ball for the Braves on Opening Day, fresh off a wildly successful debut season in Atlanta. Michael King, who dominated the Braves in that Game 1, gets the ball for the Padres. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET/1:10 p.m. PT on March 27.
Here’s a look at the matchup:
LHP Chris Sale
Previous Opening Day starts: 5 (2013, ‘14, ‘16, ‘18, ‘19)
2024 season: 18-3, 2.38 ERA
Sale resurrected his career while producing one of the greatest comeback seasons baseball has ever seen. The 35-year-old left-hander earned his first Cy Young Award after leading the National League in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225). He was just three strikeouts shy of Tarik Skubal’s MLB-leading total. It’s safe to say he exceeded expectations after entering the season having totaled just 151 innings over the previous three seasons combined.
The Braves ace will be making his sixth Opening Day start and first since he drew the honor for the Red Sox in 2018 and ‘19. He also started the season opener for the White Sox in 2013, ‘14 and ‘16.
Sale ranked first among MLB pitchers with a 6.4 fWAR, a 32.1 percent strikeout rate and a 2.09 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). Though back discomfort prevented him from making his final regular-season start and from appearing in the postseason, he proved durable during his first healthy season since 2018. The NL Comeback Player of the Year posted a 1.96 ERA over his final 18 starts.
RHP Michael King
Previous Opening Day starts: None
2024 season: 13-9, 2.95 ERA
The Padres’ decision to tab King qualifies as a minor surprise, with Dylan Cease the presumed favorite and Yu Darvish having made three prior Opening Day starts for the Padres. But Darvish has recently eased off throwing as he deals with what the Padres are calling “fatigue.” And Cease is presumably slated to pitch Game 2.
Despite the mild surprise of the announcement, King has more than earned the role. He’s coming off a brilliant first full season as a starting pitcher. After arriving in the Juan Soto trade, King made 30 starts last season and posted a 2.95 ERA while racking up 201 strikeouts, en route to a seventh-place finish in NL Cy Young Award voting.
Additionally, King proved more than capable of handling the big stage. He pitched seven dominant innings in that Wild Card Series Game 1, striking out 12 Braves batters. Without Sale available, Atlanta’s injury-riddled 2024 season ended the following night.
Supervising Club Reporter Mark Bowman has covered the Braves for MLB.com since 2001.
AJ Cassavell covers the Padres for MLB.com.
