2025 MLB Opening Day starters

Below you will find every starting pitcher for each team in Game 1 of the 2025 season, as announced by the club. Noted in parentheses is how many times that pitcher has started on Opening Day, including the upcoming '25 start.

TUESDAY, MARCH 18

Dodgers at Cubs, 6:10 a.m. ET in Japan

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD, 1st): Yamamoto will start the first game of the 2025 season, which will be played in the right-hander's home country of Japan. Yamamoto is entering the second season of a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers, having recorded a 3.00 ERA over 90 innings as a rookie in 2024. He spent seven seasons pitching for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.
LAD 2024 OD starter: Tyler Glasnow

Shota Imanaga (CHC, 1st): Like his countryman Yamamoto, Imanaga will have the opportunity to begin his second Major League season pitching on native soil after being named his team's Opening Day starter. After spending eight seasons with the Yokohama Bay Stars of NPB, the left-handed Imanaga arrived in the Majors last year and immediately established himself as one of the top starters in the National League. Imanaga boasted a sub-1.00 ERA after his first nine starts and ended with a 2.91 mark, third-best in the NL. He was a first-year All-Star and finished among the top five in the NL Cy Young and NL Rookie of the Year voting.
CHC 2024 OD starter: Justin Steele

THURSDAY, MARCH 27

Brewers at Yankees, 3:05 p.m. ET

Freddy Peralta (MIL, 2nd): Peralta, who took up the ace mantle last season after the Brewers traded Corbin Burnes, is set to make his second straight Opening Day start. He opened the 2024 campaign by tossing six innings of one-run ball in a win over the Mets and finished the season with a 3.68 ERA and 200 K's across 173 2/3 frames.
MIL 2024 OD starter: Peralta

Carlos Rod��n (NYY, 2nd): Gerrit Cole's season-ending elbow injury opened the door for Rod��n to make his 2nd career Opening Day start. His first came in 2019 with the White Sox. He took the loss against the Royals after permitting three runs (two earned) over 5 1/3 innings. Rod��n dominated the Brewers when he faced them last April, allowing one run on two hits and striking out eight batters over six innings.
NYY 2024 OD starter: Nestor Cortes

Orioles at Blue Jays, 3:07 p.m. ET

Zach Eflin (BAL, 2nd): Eflin got the call on Opening Day for the Rays last season. He faced, coincidentally, the Blue Jays and allowed six earned runs and three homers over 5 2/3 innings in a losing effort. Eflin owns a career 5.72 ERA against Toronto in 45 2/3 innings. He will be Baltimore's ninth different Opening Day starting pitcher since 2016.
BAL 2024 OD starter: Corbin Burnes

TOR 2024 OD starter: Jos�� Berr��os

Red Sox at Rangers, 4:05 p.m. ET

Garrett Crochet (BOS, 2nd): What a difference a year makes. When Crochet drew the Opening Day nod for the White Sox in 2024, he did so without a single game of professional starting experience under his belt. Now, the left-hander is an emerging ace set to begin his tenure with the Red Sox, who acquired him from Chicago in a blockbuster trade this past December. After finishing the 2024 campaign with a 3.58 ERA, 209 strikeouts and 33 walks over 146 innings, Crochet will have a chance to cement himself as one of the game's top starters in '25, beginning with his Opening Day outing against the Rangers.
BOS 2024 OD starter: Brayan Bello

Nathan Eovaldi (TEX, 5th): Eovaldi, who tested free agency but returned to Texas on a three-year, $75 million deal in the offseason, will become the first pitcher to go back-to-back as the Rangers�� Opening Day starter since Kevin Millwood made four straight season-opening starts for the club from 2006-09. In four career Opening Day starts for the Red Sox and Rangers, Eovaldi has recorded a 2.82 ERA over 22 1/3 innings.
TEX 2024 OD starter: Eovaldi

Phillies at Nationals, 4:05 p.m. ET

Zack Wheeler (PHI, 2nd): The 2024 NL Cy Young Award runner-up will get the ball on Opening Day for the second straight year. Wheeler tossed six shutout innings against the Braves in a no-decision to begin last season. His first test in 2025 will come against the Nationals, a team he handled well in '24. Wheeler made three starts against Washington last year and recorded a 2.29 ERA with 23 strikeouts and five walks over 19 2/3 frames.
PHI 2024 OD starter: Wheeler

WSH 2024 OD starter: Josiah Gray

Guardians at Royals, 4:10 p.m. ET

CLE 2024 OD starter: Shane Bieber

Cole Ragans (KC, 2nd): Starting the Royals�� season opener a year ago, Ragans set a franchise record for strikeouts on Opening Day with nine K��s against the Twins. It was a harbinger of things to come, as Ragans went on to finish fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting, building on the promise he showed after joining Kansas City in the ��23 trade that sent veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers. Over 44 starts in a Royals uniform, the 27-year-old Ragans owns a 3.00 ERA with 312 K��s in 258 innings.
KC 2024 OD starter: Cole Ragans

Mets at Astros, 4:10 p.m. ET

Clay Holmes (NYM, 1st): All of Holmes' 300 appearances since 2019 have come in relief, but he is making the transition to the rotation after signing a three-year, $38 million deal with the Mets. The right-hander, who has just four career starts in the Majors, will get an immediate test as New York's Opening Day starter.
NYM 2024 OD starter: Jose Quintana

Framber Valdez (HOU, 4th): Valdez will become the fifth pitcher in Astros history to start at least four consecutive Opening Day games, joining J.R. Richard (1976-80), Mike Scott (1987-91) Shane Reynolds (1996-2000), and Roy Oswalt (2003-10). Through his three previous Opening Day games, the left-handed Valdez has allowed three earned runs -- all coming last year against the Yankees -- over 16 1/3 innings.
HOU 2024 OD starter: Valdez

Giants at Reds, 4:10 p.m. ET

Logan Webb (SF, 4th): The Giants will give the ball to Webb on Opening Day for the fourth straight season. In the 2023 season opener, Webb struck out 12 batters against the Yankees, setting a franchise record for the most K's in an Opening Day game. The 28-year-old has earned Cy Young votes in each of the past three years, posting a collective 3.22 ERA over an MLB-leading 613 innings in that span.
SF 2024 OD starter: Webb

Hunter Greene (CIN, 2nd): Greene will get another shot at Opening Day having garnered mixed results in his first attempt against the Pirates in 2023 (3 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 8 K's.) Two years later, the Reds are handing the ball to a guy coming off a breakout 2024 season in which he posted a 2.75 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP and 169 strikeouts over 150 1/3 innings and led all NL pitchers with a 6.3 bWAR.
CIN 2024 OD starter: Frankie Montas

Braves at Padres, 4:10 p.m. ET

ATL 2024 OD starter: Spencer Strider

SD 2024 OD starter: Yu Darvish

Angels at White Sox, 4:10 p.m. ET

Yusei Kikuchi (LAA, 1st): Kikuchi's first season with the Angels will also bring his first Opening Day start. He's 2-2 with a 4.85 ERA in six career starts (29 2/3 innings) against the White Sox. Last season, he made one start against Chicago, allowing five hits and two earned runs over six innings in a loss. Overall last season, Kikuchi combined for 32 starts with the Blue Jays and Astros, compiling a 9-10 record and a 4.05 ERA.
LAA 2024 OD starter: Patrick Sandoval

Sean Burke (CWS, 1st): A year after the White Sox gave Garrett Crochet his first career start on Opening Day, Burke will get the ball with only three starts and four appearances under his belt. They all came after he debuted in September last season. A third-round Draft pick in 2021, Burke allowed a total of three earned runs in his three starts. He struck out 19 batters in those 16 innings and limited batters to a .581 OPS.
CWS 2024 OD starter: Garrett Crochet

Pirates at Marlins, 4:10 p.m. ET

Paul Skenes (PIT, 1st): Skenes wasn��t even in the Majors at the start of last season, but he didn��t take long to establish himself as one of the best starters in the game after making his highly anticipated debut on May 11. The right-hander posted a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts over 130 innings for Pittsburgh, earning NL Rookie of the Year honors and finishing third in the league��s Cy Young race as a result. Now, he��s set to become the Pirates' youngest Opening Day starting pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900).
PIT 2024 OD starter: Mitch Keller

Sandy Alcantara (MIA, 5th): Alcantara��s streak of four straight Opening Day starts (a franchise record for pitchers) came to an end last year, as he missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2023. Now healthy, the ��22 NL Cy Young Award winner is set to return to his typical spot atop the Marlins�� rotation. Alcantara has posted a 2.31 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in his Opening Day starts.
MIA 2024 OD starter: Jes��s Luzardo

Twins at Cardinals, 4:15 p.m. ET

Pablo L��pez (MIN, 3rd): L��pez will be making his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Twins. He��ll be the first Twins pitcher to start Opening Day for Minnesota in three or more straight seasons since Brad Radke made seven straight from 1999-2005. The Twins are looking to win at least three straight Opening Day games for the first time since 2001-04.
MIN 2024 OD starter: L��pez

Sonny Gray (STL, 4th): Gray has been phenomenal on Opening Day, allowing only one earned run through 20 innings. His most recent such start came with the Reds in 2020, and he struck out nine batters over six innings in a 7-1 victory. The 35-year-old will see some old friends when he matches up against the Twins. Gray had a solid two-season run with Minnesota before signing with St. Louis prior to the 2024 season. That included a runner-up finish for the AL Cy Young Award in 2023.
STL 2024 OD starter: Miles Mikolas

Tigers at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. ET

Tarik Skubal (DET, 2nd): The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner was an easy choice for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. Skubal began his historic 2024 season by allowing three hits and no walks over six scoreless innings in a Detroit victory on Opening Day. That win came against the White Sox. Skubal's first test in 2025 -- a road date versus the World Series champions -- is a can't-miss matchup.
DET 2024 OD starter: Skubal

Cubs at D-backs, 10:10 p.m. ET

AZ 2024 OD starter: Zac Gallen

Athletics at Mariners, 10:10 p.m. ET

ATH 2024 OD starter: Alex Wood

Logan Gilbert (SEA, 1st): While the Mariners had no shortage of impressive starting pitching performances in 2024, Gilbert managed to stand out. The right-hander led the Majors in innings (208 2/3) and WHIP (0.89) and posted a 3.23 ERA with a 5.95 K/BB ratio, earning a sixth-place finish in the AL Cy Young Award voting as a result. On the heels of that strong performance, he��ll get a chance to make his first Opening Day start.
SEA 2024 OD starter: Luis Castillo

FRIDAY, MARCH 28

Rockies at Rays, 4:10 p.m. ET

Kyle Freeland (COL, 4th): After allowing 15 runs across his previous two Opening Day outings -- five against the Dodgers in 2022 and 10 against the D-backs in '24 -- Freeland will be looking to get his season started on a better note this year as he becomes the first pitcher in Rockies history to make four Opening Day starts.
COL 2024 OD starter: Freeland

Shane McClanahan (TB, 3rd): This will be McClanahan's first career appearance against the Rockies and his first appearance in a Major League game since Aug. 2, 2023. The left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery later that month and spent last season rehabbing. McClanahan was the Rays' Opening Day starter in 2022 and '23. He didn't allow a run in either of those outings, which collectively spanned 10 1/3 innings.
TB 2024 OD starter: Zach Eflin