Major League Baseball's 2026 regular season begins on Wednesday, March 25, with the New York Yankees facing the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park at 8:05 p.m. ET. An 11-game slate follows on Thursday, with the remaining six games on Friday. Confirmed starting pitchers highlight aces like Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The 2026 MLB season opens with a marquee matchup between the Yankees and Giants on March 25 at 8:05 p.m. ET. Max Fried starts his fourth career Opening Day for New York, facing Logan Webb in his fifth straight for San Francisco. Fried continues a trend of different Yankee starters in recent years, while Webb trails only Juan Marichal in Giants history for consecutive openers, per Elias Sports Bureau. Luis Arraez joins the Giants after helping Venezuela win the World Baseball Classic, alongside Harrison Bader. Aaron Judge has three homers in three games at Oracle Park. On March 26, Paul Skenes makes his second Opening Day start for Pittsburgh at the Mets, facing Freddy Peralta in his third straight. Skenes won the 2025 NL Cy Young, while Peralta led the NL with 17 wins. Other matchups include Shane Smith vs. Jacob Misiorowski (White Sox at Brewers), Cade Cavalli vs. Matthew Boyd (Nationals at Cubs), Joe Ryan vs. Trevor Rogers (Twins at Orioles), Garrett Crochet vs. Andrew Abbott (Red Sox at Reds), José Soriano vs. Hunter Brown (Angels at Astros), Tarik Skubal vs. TBA (Tigers at Padres), Drew Rasmussen vs. Matthew Liberatore (Rays at Cardinals), Nathan Eovaldi vs. Cristopher Sánchez (Rangers at Phillies), Zac Gallen vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (D-backs at Dodgers) and Tanner Bibee vs. Logan Gilbert (Guardians at Mariners). Friday's games feature Luis Severino vs. Kevin Gausman (Athletics at Blue Jays), Kyle Freeland vs. Sandy Alcantara (Rockies at Marlins) and Cole Ragans vs. Chris Sale (Royals at Braves). Notable notes include Skubal seeking a third straight AL Cy Young, Yamamoto following his 2025 World Series heroics and Sale's seventh career opener. The Padres have yet to name their starter.
