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Major League Baseball is scheduled to open the 2023 regular season on March 30. In some respects, this year will mark a return to normalcy after the pandemic altered the 2020-21 campaigns and the lockout delayed the 2022 season. Barring another act of God, a full 162-game season will be played with interruption this year, with a dozen clubs advancing to the postseason in October.

With the spring training underway, there is no better time to compile a living document that chronicles every team's Opening Day starter situation. These announcements trickle in throughout the spring and sometimes change because of injury, so check back regularly for updates. We'll have everything you need to know about Opening Day starters right here.

Before we get to the good stuff, here is the all-time Opening Day start leaderboard:

  1. Tom Seaver: 16 career Opening Day starts
  2. Steve Carlton: 14
  3. Jack Morris: 14
  4. Randy Johnson: 14
  5. Walter Johnson: 14

While it's true that Opening Day counts for only one game in the standings, it's still an honor to be tabbed as the starting pitcher for that day. With that in mind, here's who's getting the ball in Game 1 around the league.


RHP Zac Gallen. Madison Bumgarner had started the last three Opening Days for the Diamondbacks, but that streak will end with Zac Gallen getting the nod. He finished fifth in the Cy Young voting and had a 44 1/3-inning scoreless streak last season, the seventh-longest streak in history. The D-Backs will visit the NL West rival Dodgers on Opening Day.

LHP Max Fried. Fried, the Cy Young runner-up, has started the last two season openers. He'll complete the hat trick when Atlanta opens the season in Washington.

RHP Kyle Gibson. John Means, the Orioles' Opening Day starter the last two years, is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. That opened the door for Gibson, a free-agent addition. The O's will begin the season in Boston.

RHP Corey Kluber. Kluber, not Chris Sale, will start Opening Day, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced on March 15. There's no shame in giving the ball to a two-time Cy Young winner to begin the new season. Nathan Eovaldi started the last three season openers for Boston. The Red Sox launch the new season at home against the Orioles.

RHP Marcus Stroman. Kyle Hendricks is working his way back from a shoulder injury and will start the season on the injured list, paving the way for Stroman to get the Opening Day assignment. Stroman announced it himself on March 22. Hendricks had started the previous four Opening Days for the Cubs. Chicago will host the Brewers to begin the season.

RHP Dylan Cease. Cease pitched to a 2.20 ERA and was the Cy Young runner-up in 2022. Chicago will begin their season against the defending World Series champions in Houston.

RHP Hunter Greene. The question was "which" second year pitcher would start Opening Day for the Reds, not "if" they would start a second year pitcher on Opening Day. On March 9, the team announced Greene will start Game 1 over lefty Nick Lodolo. At 23 years and 236 days, Greene will be Cincinnati's youngest Opening Day starter since 22-year-old Frank Pastore in 1980. The Reds have not had a pitcher start consecutive Opening Days since Johnny Cueto started four straight from 2012-15. They will be home against the Pirates on Opening Day.

RHP Shane Bieber. No surprise here. The Guardians announced on March 4 they will give the ball to Bieber, the 2020 Cy Young winner, for the fourth consecutive Opening Day. He finished seventh in the Cy Young voting in 2022. Cleveland will be in Seattle to start the season.

RHP Germán Márquez. This seemed to come down to Kyle Freeland and Márquez as they had each started two of the last four Opening Days for the Rockies. Márquez will get a third Opening Day assignment this year despite Freeland performing better last season. The Rockies will start their season in San Diego.

LHP Eduardo Rodriguez. This will mark his second consecutive Opening Day start with Detroit. The Tigers visit the Rays to open 2023.

LHP Framber ValdezValdez, not Justin Verlander, started Opening Day for the Astros last season. Verlander went on to win the Cy Young, though he left as a free agent, clearing the way for Valdez to start Game 1 again in 2023. The defending World Series champs will host the White Sox on Opening Day.

RHP Zack Greinke. Greinke started Opening Day for the Royals last season as well, more than a decade after he made his first Opening Day start for the franchise. This figures to be his final Opening Day start. The Royals will welcome the Twins to Kansas City on Opening Day.

RHP Shohei Ohtani. On Feb. 16, the Angels became the first team to announce their Opening Day starter. It'll again be Ohtani, who also started Game 1 in 2022. The two-way megastar finished second in the MVP voting and fourth in the Cy Young voting a year ago. Ohtani will be the first Halos pitcher to start consecutive Opening Days since Jered Weaver started six straight from 2010-15. The Angels will start their season in Oakland for the fifth time in the last seven years.

LHP Julio Urías. Believe it or not, the Dodgers have had four different Opening Day starters in the last four years: Walker Buehler (2022), Clayton Kershaw (2021), Dustin May (2020), and Hyun-Jin Ryu (2019). Urías, who will make it five in five, finished third in the Cy Young voting a year ago. The Dodgers will be at home against the D-Backs to kick off 2023.

RHP.Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara had started the last three Opening Days and there was no reason to think the Marlins would start anyone other than the reigning Cy Young winner in Game 1 this year. Alcantara's fourth Opening Day start will set a new franchise record, breaking a tie with Josh Beckett and Josh Johnson. The Marlins will host the Mets to begin 2023.

RHP Corbin Burnes. Burnes may have some bad feelings toward the Brewers after their arbitration hearing, but he'll get the nod for a second consecutive Opening Day. Milwaukee opens the season in Chicago against the Cubs.

RHP Pablo López. The Twins acquired López from the Marlins over the offseason. Clearly they like what they've seen this spring to give him the nod. Minnesota opens their season in Kansas City.

RHP Max Scherzer. The Mets have two excellent Opening Day starter candidates in Scherzer and Justin Verlander, and they are giving each a moment in the spotlight. Scherzer will start Opening Day and Verlander will start the team's home opener on April 6, reports the New York Post. This will be Scherzer's seventh career Opening Day start. The Mets will visit Miami to start the new season.

RHP Gerrit Cole. On March 5, manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees plan to start Gerrit Cole on Opening Day. This will be Cole's fourth consecutive Opening Day start with New York and his fifth career Opening Day start overall. He of course has the largest pitcher contract in baseball history. The Yankees will host the Giants on the first day of the year.

LHP Kyle Muller. The Athletics have gutted their roster the last 18 months or so and five of their last six Opening Day starters are now in other organizations (the sixth, Mike Fiers, is retired). That explains how Muller, part of the Sean Murphy return, gets the nod. The A's will host the Angels on Opening Day for the fifth time in the last seven years.

RHP Aaron Nola. Aaron Nola had started the last five Opening Days for the Phillies, the franchise's longest streak of Opening Day starts since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton started 10 straight from 1977-86. Soon, he'll make that six. The Phillies open their season in Texas.

RHP Mitch Keller. The Pirates announced Keller will start Opening Day with a neat video showing Keller being informed of the decision on March 15. He will be Pittsburgh's eighth different Opening Day starter in the last eight years. The last Pirate to start consecutive Opening Days was Francisco Liriano from 2013-15. Keller quietly broke out in the second half last year, pitching to a 2.71 ERA in his final 15 starts. The Pirates open the season in Cincinnati.

RHP Miles Mikolas. The bet here was Adam Wainwright, but he got hurt. Mikolas was the clear alternative, and so here he is. The Cardinals will host the Blue Jays in a bird-themed Opening Day. 

LHP Blake Snell. Yu Darvish had started the last two Opening Days and he has a brand new six-year contract extension, but the Padres went with Snell instead. The Padres will be home against the Rockies on Opening Day.

RHP Logan Webb. Webb has emerged as one of the game's top pitchers thanks in part to his pre-2021 decision to emphasize the sinker and slider. According to Sarah Langs, Webb becomes the first Giants moundsman to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Madison Bumgarner earned four straight nods from 2014-17. The Giants will visit the Yankees to start 2023.

RHP Luis Castillo. Castillo, a midseason acquisition last summer, got the ball over Robbie Ray in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series last year as well. The Mariners will host the Guardians on Opening Day.

LHP Shane McClanahan. For much of last season, McClanahan was a legitimate Cy Young candidate, if not the favorite, before fading a bit in the second half. His reward? A second consecutive Opening Day start. Tyler Glasnow, who returned from Tommy John surgery last September, started Opening Day for the Rays in 2021, but will miss the start of the season with a strained oblique. Tampa will host the Tigers on Opening Day.

RHP Jacob deGrom. The Rangers will use their 15th different Opening Day starter in the last 15 years this season. The last Texas starter to start consecutive openers was Kevin Millwood from 2006-09. As long as Jacob deGrom is healthy, expect him to break that streak next year. The Rangers will be home against the Phillies on Opening Day.

RHP Alek Manoah. Manoah also got the ball in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series last year, so it's no surprise to see him get the nod on Opening Day. José Berríos started the opener for Toronto last year. The Blue Jays will visit St. Louis to start the new season.

LHP Patrick Corbin. Last year Corbin became the first pitcher other than Max Scherzer or Stephen Strasburg to start Opening Day for the Nationals since Livan Hernandez in 2011. Strasburg is still dealing with a nerve issue and it's unclear when he'll pitch again, if ever. That left Corbin as the obvious choice from an experience perspective. The Nationals will host the Braves to begin 2023.