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MLB Opening Day: Pitching matchups

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Sep 14, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) pitches to a St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong (16) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cubs won 7-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) pitches to a St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong (16) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cubs won 7-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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As another season begins, we take a look at the 2017 MLB Opening Day pitching matchups.

After a long winter, and a longer than usual spring training, the 2017 Major League Baseball season is finally here. Each of the 30 MLB clubs will open the season with Opening Day festivities on either Sunday April 2 or Monday April 3.

The Tampa Bay Rays have the honors of hosting the first game of the season when the AL East rival New York Yankees come to town. The San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks square off in the desert Sunday afternoon, and the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs open the season on the road against the hated St. Louis Cardinals to cap the first day of MLB action. All other teams open the 2017 season the following day.

Each team’s Opening Day matchup, as well as its probable starting pitcher is listed below. Each starter’s 2016 won-loss record and ERA are listed in parenthesis.

Sunday April 2, 2017

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays, 1:10 PM ET, Tropicana Field

  • Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (14-4, 3.07 ERA)
  • Rays: RHP Chris Archer (9-19, 4.02 ERA)

San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks, 4:10 PM ET at Chase Field

  • Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74 ERA)
  • Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Grienke (13-7, 4.37 ERA)

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:35 PM ET at Busch Stadium

  • Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44 ERA)
  • Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (16-9, 3.04 ERA)

Monday April 3, 2017

Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals, 1:05 PM ET at Nationals Park

  • Marlins: RHP Edinson Volquez (10-11, 5.37 ERA)
  • Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 3.60 ERA)

Atlanta Braves at New York Mets, 1:10 PM ET at Citi Field

  • Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (7-10, 3.21 ERA)
  • Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA)

Pittsburgh Pirates at Boston Red Sox, 2:05 PM ET at Fenway Park

  • Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-10, 3.88 ERA)
  • Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (22-4, 3.15)

Colorado Rockies at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:10 PM ET at Miller Park

  • Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (10-10, 4.61 ERA)
  • Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (9-3, 2.81 ERA)

Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, 3:05 PM ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

  • Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.48 ERA)
  • Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman (9-12, 3.61 ERA)

Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, 4:10 PM at Guaranteed Rate Field

  • Tigers: RHP Justin Verlander* (16-9, 3.04 ERA)
  • White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana (13-12, 3.20 ERA)

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins, 4:10 PM at Target Field

  • Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (12-3, 3.51 ERA)
  • Twins: RHP Ervin Santana* (7-11, 3.38 ERA)

Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds, 4:10 PM ET at Great American Ballpark

  • Phillies: RHP Jeremy Hellickson* (12-10, 3.71 ERA)
  • Reds: RHP Scott Feldman (7-4, 3.97 ERA)

San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:10 PM ET at Dodger Stadium

  • Padres: LHP Jhoulys Chacin (6-8, 4.81 ERA)
  • Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (12-4, 1.69 ERA)

Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers, 7:05 PM ET at Globe Life Park in Arlington

  • Indians: RHP Corey Kluber (18-9, 3.14 ERA)
  • Rangers: RHP Yu Darvish (7-5, 3.41 ERA)

Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros, 8:10 PM ET at Minute Maid Park

  • Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (11-8, 3.82 ERA)
  • Astros: LHP Dallas Keuchel (9-12, 4.55 ERA)

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM ET at Oakland-Alemeda Country Coliseum

  • Angels: RHP Ricky Nolasco (8-14, 4.42 ERA)
  • Athletics: RHP Kendall Graveman (10-11, 4.11 ERA)

Note: As of March 28, 2017, six MLB teams had yet to officially name an Opening Day starter. In those instances, we’ve listed the likeliest candidate and tagged him with an asterisk (*).

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