Welcome to MLB Opening Day!
All 30 teams were scheduled to be in action Thursday before rain postponed the scheduled Milwaukee Brewers–New York Mets and Atlanta Braves–Philadelphia Phillies openers to Friday.
The Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles got things started with Corbin Burnes delivering a dominant debut for Baltimore. Soon after, things really heated up with eight games played at — highlighted by a New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros showdown in Texas.
Later, the Texas Rangers will raise the first World Series banner in franchise history before taking on the Chicago Cubs in manager Craig Counsell’s team debut (7:35 p.m. ET on ESPN). And, if that wasn’t enough, there are a trio of late-night games on the West Coast, including Luis Castillo and the Seattle Mariners against the Boston Red Sox at 10:10 p.m. ET.
What are we looking for as the season gets started? Our reporters give their pregame takes from the ballpark, plus we’ll post lineups as they are announced and live updates throughout the day, including takeaways from each game as it concludes.
Season preview: Power rankings | Predictions | Moves that rocked offseason
MLB Rank 2024: Who are baseball’s 100 best players? | Snubs, surprises
ESPN+: Passan’s bold predictions, breakout stars | 2024 MLB payroll tiers
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Live updates | | Takeaways | Storylines & lineups
Postponed games: MIL-NYM, ATL-PHI
Live updates from every Opening Day game
Takeaways from completed Opening Day games
Toronto Blue Jays 8, Tampa Bay Rays 2
Recap | Box score | Highlights
The word from Blue Jays camp out of spring training painted the picture of a rejuvenated Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: He’s lost some weight, he’s been more joyful, he’s more confident and he put together consistently good at-bats, hitting .463 in Grapefruit League play. The hope is he can find his MVP-level stroke of 2021 after two good-not-great seasons in 2022 and 2023. His first hit of 2024: A mammoth 450-foot blast over the batter’s eye in center field at Tampa off a cutter from Zach Eflin, matching his longest home run of 2023. That will be a nice confidence boost for the young slugger, who reached the majors in 2019 but is still just 25 years old.
The Jays are trying Guerrero in the second spot in the batting order, essentially flipping spots with Bo Bichette. Indeed, you can argue that Bichette has passed Guerrero as the face of the Blue Jays (he’s certainly been more valuable via WAR the past two seasons). You can’t argue with this: The Toronto offense isn’t as deep as it was even a couple years after finishing eighth in runs in the AL last season. They need both of their young starts to deliver. – David Schoenfield
Minnesota Twins 4, Kansas City Royals 1
Recap | Box score | Highlights
We saw Royce Lewis’ star-crossed career on full display on Thursday: The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Lewis twice tore his ACL as a minor leaguer, missing all of 2021 and most of 2022 as a result. He nonetheless remained a top prospect and reached the majors for his first extended stay in 2023 – only to play just 58 games due to an oblique strain and hamstring. But when he did play, he looked like a star — hitting over .300 with power, including four grand slams in less than a month.
He began 2024 with a home run in his first at-bat, ripping a 423-foot blast to left field and then singled in his second at-bat. However, when Carlos Correa then doubled, Lewis limped into third base and was replaced by a pinch-runner (and don’t blame cold weather as it was 65 degrees in Kansas City). The Twins’ lineup needs Lewis raking in the three-hole. Let’s hope it’s not serious. – David Schoenfield
Los Angeles Dodgers 7, St. Louis Cardinals 1
Recap | Box score | Highlights
Miles Mikolas caused a bit of a stir earlier this month when he said the Dodgers were playing “checkbook baseball.” On Opening Day, he got a first-hand look at what that checkbook has provided. It got them Mookie Betts ($365 million), who…
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