Rockies-Marlins Opening Day starters: Freeland vs. Alcantara

The lights will soon shine bright for Opening Night in the Magic City, when the Marlins host the Rockies for the first ever Friday night season opener in loanDepot park history on March 27.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Toeing the rubber will be two of the longest-tenured players for each team: Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland and Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara.

Here’s more about the Opening Night pitching matchup.

Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland
Previous Opening Days starts: 2019, ‘22, ‘24, ‘25
2025 season: 5-17, 4.98 ERA in 31 starts

Freeland returns to the site of his first opener. He held the Marlins to one run over seven innings in the Rockies’ 6-3 victory to begin 2019. His best opener performance was last year -- no earned runs, two hits and seven strikeouts over six innings of Colorado’s 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. Overall, he is 1-2 with a 7.58 ERA over 19 innings in his openers.

But the Rockies are all about now, and the future. Freeland, beginning his 10th season, is a leader in embracing a new direction. With pitching coach Alon Leichman (the Marlins’ assistant pitching coach the past two years) championing pitchers expanding their mixes, Freeland has embraced the expanded use of the cutter and developed a new changeup.

A back injury delayed the onset of Freeland's Spring Training participation, but he has had plenty of time to prepare.

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara
Previous Opening Day starts: 2020-23, ‘25
2025 season: 11-12, 5.36 ERA in 31 starts

The 30-year-old Alcantara will make his franchise-leading sixth Opening Day start, hoping to carry over momentum from the tail end of his otherwise challenging 2025 season.

In his return from Tommy John surgery, Alcantara had an ERA that ranked as the third highest among qualifying Major League pitchers behind the Nationals' Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker. Over his last eight starts, however, he posted a 2.68 ERA to resemble more of his 2022 NL Cy Young-winning form.

Miami has gone 2-3 in Alcantara’s Opening Day starts, including a dramatic walk-off victory last season. Though Alcantara took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of that outing, he got chased after allowing two runs in that frame. He enters 2026 with a 2.57 career ERA in season openers.

"Another great opportunity for me," Alcantara told MLB.com. "Like I always say, always feel blessed about God giving me those opportunities to step out of my bed and get me to play baseball. Great opportunity for me -- six times, Opening Day for the Marlins. I can even remember the first day when I came here, just fighting for a spot, and now I have six times Opening Day starts for the Marlins. It always means a lot to me."