Opening Day starters: Who's getting the call?

Opening Day starters: Who's getting the call?

July 23rd, 2020

Below you will find every starting pitcher for each team in Game 1 of 60, as announced by the team’s manager. Noted in parentheses are how many times that pitcher has started on Opening Day, including the upcoming 2020 start.

ANNOUNCED

AL EAST

Blue Jays (at TB): (2nd)
Ryu was the Blue Jays’ big-ticket free-agent signing. His $80 million contract was the largest by total value in franchise history given to a pitcher. It'll be his second career Opening Day start -- he did so for the Dodgers last year with Clayton Kershaw injured.
2019 OD starter: Marcus Stroman

Orioles (at BOS): (1st)
John Means was supposed to draw his first career Opening Day nod, but the All-Star left-hander won't be able to make the start due to arm fatigue. The veteran Milone will take Means' place. Milone has also never started on Opening Day. The 33-year-old lefty will be the Orioles' fourth different Opening Day starter in the last four seasons. The last pitcher to start back-to-back Opening Days for Baltimore was Chris Tillman, from 2014-16.
2019 OD starter: Andrew Cashner

Rays (vs. TOR): (1st)
At 36 years and 255 days old, Morton will be the oldest pitcher to start on Opening Day since a 41-year-old Bartolo Colon for the Mets in 2015. He'll also be the oldest Opening Day starter in Rays history.
2019 OD starter: Blake Snell

Red Sox (vs. BAL): (1st)
Chris Sale started on Opening Day for the Red Sox in each of the last two seasons, but will miss this year due to Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi had a 5.99 ERA last season in 12 games as a starter and 11 in relief.
2019 OD starter: Chris Sale

Yankees (at WSH): (2nd)
Gerrit Cole’s deal with the Yankees was the largest ever for a pitcher by total value and average annual value, and now he'll be on the mound to start the season opposite Max Scherzer, in a rematch of the pitching matchup from Games 1 and 5 of last year's World Series, which featured the Nationals and Cole's former team, the Astros. No Yankees pitcher has ever struck out 10 batters on Opening Day, but Cole hasn't had fewer than 10 strikeouts in a regular-season game since Aug. 1, 2019. Perhaps a record will be broken.
2019 OD starter: Masahiro Tanaka

AL CENTRAL

Indians (vs. KC): (1st)
Bieber was the Tribe's fifth starter on Opening Day last year, but after finishing fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting with a 3.28 ERA and an AL-best 1.7 walks per nine innings, he'll take the ball on July 24.
2019 OD starter: Corey Kluber

Royals (at CLE): (3rd)
Duffy will make his third career Opening Day start, all of which have been with the Royals, the team he's spent his whole career with. Duffy's third Opening Day start for the Royals will tie for third-most in franchise history.
2019 OD starter: Brad Keller

Tigers (at CIN): (1st)
Matthew Boyd led the team in starts with 32 last season and will get the ball for his first-ever Opening Day start.
2019 OD starter: Jordan Zimmermann

Twins (at CWS): José Berríos (2nd)
A potential dark horse Cy Young candidate, Berríos is starting on Opening Day for the Twins for the second straight season. He will look for a repeat of his 2019 opener performance, a scoreless 7 2/3-inning gem with 10 strikeouts against the Indians.
2019 OD starter: José Berríos

White Sox (vs. MIN): (1st)
Giolito's 2019 rebound after his tough ‘18 season was one of baseball’s great stories last year. He finished 2019 with a 3.41 ERA, the lowest ERA by any qualified pitcher in a season directly after a season in which he had a qualified 6.00 ERA, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
2019 OD starter: Carlos Rodón

AL WEST
Angels (at OAK): (1st)
Heaney will be the Angels’ fourth Opening Day starter in four years. The last time a pitcher made consecutive Opening Day starts for the Angels was 2010-15, when Jered Weaver did so.
2019 Opening Day starter: Trevor Cahill

Astros (vs. SEA): (12th)
Lat and groin injuries originally had Verlander's Opening Day status in doubt, but the hiatus gave him enough time to recover for the start of the season. A 12th Opening Day start would put the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner in a tie for the eighth-most in history alongside Hall of Famers Grover Cleveland Alexander and Bert Blyleven.
2019 OD starter: Justin Verlander

Athletics (vs. LAA): (1st)
Montas was an early AL Cy Young Award candidate last year, going 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings before he was suspended for testing positive for a banned substance. The right-hander was reportedly pumping triple-digit two-seam fastballs while keeping himself fresh during the hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
2019 OD starter: Mike Fiers

Mariners (at HOU): (2nd)
Gonzales will make his second consecutive Opening Day start for the Mariners, after signing an extension with the club in early February. He led the pitching staff in innings and strikeouts last year, and was the team’s only qualified starter.
2019 OD starter: Marco Gonzales

Rangers (vs. COL): (1st)
The Rangers haven't had the same pitcher start Opening Day in consecutive years since Kevin Millwood had 4 straight Opening Day starts 2006-09.
2019 OD starter: Mike Minor

NL EAST

Braves (at NYM): (1st)
At 22 years and 355 days old on Opening Day, Soroka will be the Braves' youngest Opening Day starter in the modern era (since 1900). The last time a pitcher younger than that started for the franchise on Opening Day was in 1878, when Tommy Bond did so, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
2019 OD starter: Julio Teherán

Marlins (at PHI): (1st)
Alcantara was the Marlins' lone representative at last year's All-Star Game and finished 2019 with a 3.88 ERA across nearly 200 innings. José Ureña started each of the last two Opening Days for Miami.
2019 OD starter: José Ureña

Mets (vs. ATL): (2nd)
In 2019, deGrom got his first Opening Day start, with the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner throwing six scoreless innings to beat the Nationals. The right-hander went on to win that hardware for a second straight season.
2019 OD starter: deGrom

Nationals (vs. NYY): (5th)
Manager Dave Martinez has confirmed that Scherzer will get the ball on Opening Day for the third straight season and the fifth time in six years.
2019 OD starter: Max Scherzer

Phillies (vs. MIA): (3rd)
Nola will be the first Phillies pitcher to start three consecutive Opening Day games since Roy Halladay, from 2010-12.
2019 OD starter: Aaron Nola

NL CENTRAL

Brewers (at CHC): (1st)
The Brewers haven't had the same pitcher pitch back-to-back Opening Days since Yovani Gallardo from 2010-14. Woodruff transformed into a staff ace for the Brewers in 2019, and has even been noted as a dark-horse Cy Young candidate this year.
2019 OD starter: Jhoulys Chacín

Cardinals (vs. PIT): (1st)
At 24 years, 283 days old on Opening Day, Flaherty will be the youngest Cardinals pitcher to start on Opening Day since a 24-year-old Joe Magrane on April 3, 1989.
2019 OD starter: Miles Mikolas

Cubs (vs. MIL): (1st)
Hendricks' first career Opening Day start will end a three-year streak for Jon Lester. Hendricks led Cubs starters in ERA last season at 3.46.
2019 OD starter: Jon Lester

Pirates (at STL): (1st)
As expected, Musgrove will get the nod on Opening Day after throwing the most innings of any Pirates pitcher last year and recording the lowest ERA among the team's primary starters. He'll become the fifth different pitcher to start for the Bucs on Opening Day in the past five years.
2019 OD starter: Jameson Taillon

Reds (vs. DET): (3rd)
Gray led the team in ERA last season and will make his third career Opening Day start. He started the A's first game of the year in both 2014 and 2015.
2019 OD starter: Luis Castillo

NL WEST

Dodgers (vs. SF): (1st)
Clayton Kershaw was scratched with back stiffness and placed on the injured list just hours before he was scheduled to make his ninth career Opening Day start for Los Angeles. May was called up to start in Kershaw's place -- and the 22-year-old right-hander will become the first Dodgers rookie to start on Opening Day since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
2019 OD starter: Hyun Jin Ryu

D-backs (at SD): (6th)
The team gave Bumgarner an $85 million contract this offseason, and now he'll start on Opening Day for the club. He’s made five prior Opening Day starts in his career, all for the Giants -- three of those were against the D-backs, including the ‘17 start when he homered twice.
2019 OD starter: Zack Greinke

Giants (at LAD): (5th)
Healthy again after missing most of the 2019 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Cueto will get the nod in San Francisco's first game. He previously made four straight Opening Day starts for the Reds from 2012-15.
2019 OD starter: Madison Bumgarner

Padres (vs. ARI): (1st)
At 24 years and 198 days old on Opening Day, Paddack will be the fourth-youngest pitcher to start an opener for the Padres. Of the three pitchers younger than him to do so, one was 2019 Opening Day starter Eric Lauer, who's now on the Brewers.
2019 OD starter: Eric Lauer

Rockies (at TEX): (1st)
Márquez will make his first career Opening Day start on the heels of a 2019 season where he led the team in innings and strikeouts.
2019 OD starter: Kyle Freeland