Ronald Acuña Jr.. and his cousin Maikel Garcia are still riding high after helping Venezuela win the World Baseball Classic. The two will now enjoy the experience of playing in the same Opening Day game.
Acuña’s Braves will host Garcia’s Royals to begin the 2026 season. Both Atlanta and Kansas City will be looking to return to the postseason after missing out last year.
Garcia was named the WBC MVP and Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino enhanced his fame while helping Italy reach the semifinals. They will be looking to extend their March success against a Braves team that also has plenty of star power in the form of Acuña, Austin Riley and Matt Olson.
When is the game and how can I watch it?
First pitch at Truist Park is set for Friday, 7:15 p.m. ET/6:15 CT.
Royals: Royals.TV streaming services and select cable and satellite providers (yet to be announced, but an FAQ with more information is here)
All out-of-market games are available live or on demand in the US on MLB.TV (subject to blackouts and other restrictions). Live games are also available in select countries outside the US. A full list of available games can be found here.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Royals: Left-hander Cole Ragans (3-3, 4.67 ERA in 2025) will make his third consecutive Opening Day start in his career and all for Kansas City, where the 28-year-old has blossomed into an ace. Since the club acquired him ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline, Ragans’ 9.2 fWAR ranks third among American League pitchers behind Tarik Skubal (14.9) and Garrett Crochet (10.5). Since ‘23, Ragans’ 11.64 strikeout-per-nine ranks second among AL pitchers (min. 300 innings) to Crochet’s 11.8.
A priority for Ragans this season is staying on the field after he logged just 61 2/3 innings last season, sidelined first with a left groin strain and then most of the year with a left rotator cuff strain. It’s not the first time Ragans has suffered injuries. He underwent two Tommy John surgeries as a Rangers prospect, so his health is paramount in 2026. And for the Royals to get to where they want to go in October, they need Ragans on the mound for the majority of the season.
On Opening Day last year, Ragans allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in five innings to go with three strikeouts against the Guardians at Kauffman Stadium. He’s only faced the Braves once in his career, back with the Rangers in 2023, when he threw three innings in relief and allowed four runs.
Braves: Chris Sale (7-5, 2.58) will be making his second straight Opening Day start for Atlanta and the seventh of his career. The 2024 Cy Young Award winner has posted a 2.46 ERA over 50 appearances (49 starts) for the Braves over the past two seasons.
Despite missing two months with a broken rib last year, he still ranks 10th among all MLB pitchers with 390 strikeouts over the past two seasons. The nine-time All-Star also ranks second among starters with a 32.2% strikeout rate, trailing only Crochet (32.9%).
Sale made three Opening Day starts for the White Sox (2013, ‘14 and ‘16) and two more for the Red Sox (2018 and ‘19). He limited the Padres to three runs over five innings in Atlanta’s season opener in ‘25.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Royals: The top four or five is what we’ll see the majority of this season, but facing Sale is a tough first assignment. Pasquantino will play regardless, but we might see other lefties swapped out for matchup reasons. Between Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel, there will likely have to be one lefty in the lineup, so we opted to keep Jensen in there at DH, while putting righties Starling Marte in right field and Lane Thomas in center field. It’s not that right fielder Caglianone won’t play against left-handers ... it’s just that Sale is an especially tough lefty to face. The Royals still could put Caglianone in right field, though, while having Marte DH and Jensen on the bench for Opening Day.
- Maikel Garcia, 3B
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS
- Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B
- Salvador Perez, C
- Isaac Collins, LF
- Jonathan India, 2B
- Carter Jensen, DH
- Starling Marte, RF
- Lane Thomas, CF
Braves: This lineup is going to look thin with primary left fielder Mike Yastrzemski set to sit against left-handed starting pitchers. Jurickson Profar was slated to be the DH before he was given a 162-game suspension after testing for a banned performance-enhancing drug. Drake Baldwin or Ozzie Albies are potential fits in the two-hole. Manager Walt Weiss knows putting Baldwin and Olson back-to-back makes them susceptible to left-handed relievers. But he feels both handle southpaws well enough that this won’t be a problem.
- Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
- Drake Baldwin, C
- Matt Olson, 1B
- Austin Riley, 3B
- Ozzie Albies, 2B
- Michael Harris II, CF
- Kyle Farmer, DH
- Eli White, LF
- Mauricio Dubón, SS
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Royals: If all goes as planned, the Royals would love to have Ragans shove for six innings and then deploy the back end of their bullpen: Matt Strahm, Lucas Erceg and closer Carlos Estévez, who notched an MLB-best 42 saves in 2025. Strahm and Erceg could be flipped in order based on where the opposing lineup is at -- the Royals will want Erceg to pitch in the most high-leverage spots of the batting order. Estévez did not have his normal velocity at all this spring, so that’s something to keep an eye on in the first part of the season. Mid-leverage relievers include John Schreiber, Nick Mears and lefty Daniel Lynch IV, while Bailey Falter will be a long reliever.
Braves: Closer Raisel Iglesias' setup man is Robert Suarez, who notched 76 saves over the past two seasons with San Diego. Tyler Kinley serves as another high-leverage option and Dylan Lee will be the top left-handed option. Joel Payamps and lefty Aaron Bummer are experienced relievers who have had success in the past.
Any injuries of note?
Royals: The Royals are still deciding whether second baseman/left fielder Michael Massey will be on the Opening Day roster after suffering a left calf strain on March 6. Left fielder Isaac Collins dealt with a back/left side issue during the later part of spring, but he was able to get back into Cactus League games at the end. Still, the Royals might have to manage his playing time based on how he’s feeling.
Braves: Spencer Schwellenbach (right elbow surgery) and Spencer Strider (left oblique) highlighted the injuries that depleted Atlanta’s rotation during Spring Training. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and catcher Sean Murphy are both expected to be out until the first half of May.
Who is hot and who is not?
Royals: The Royals are still riding the high of seeing their stars star at the World Baseball Classic and are hoping the momentum carries over, including Italy captain Pasquantino and teammate Caglianone, USA shortstop Witt, and Venezuelan winners Perez and Garcia. On the ‘not’ side of things, Collins started the spring especially slow and dealt with some bumps and bruises. Spring stats aren’t indicative of success, and the Royals are still confident in their new left fielder. But it would be nice to see him start strong in 2026.
Braves: Riley showed some of his opposite-field power while tallying five homers through his first 38 Grapefruit League at-bats. Olson hit six home runs and Baldwin produced one of the game’s top hard-hit rates this spring. Yastrzemski also homered six times in 35 at-bats. As for Acuña, he’s still riding a high that came with leading Venezuela to a World Baseball Classic title. Albies will be looking forward to dumping his Grapefruit League stats (.548 OPS in 34 plate appearances). But he did hit a walk-off homer for The Netherlands in the WBC.
Anything else fans might want to know?
• Friday matches the earliest Opening Day in Royals history and will mark the second time the Royals are beginning the season against a National League opponent, following 2016 against the Mets. But it’ll be the first time they’re playing in an NL ballpark on Opening Day.
• The Braves played their first Opening Day game at Truist Park in 2018. Nick Markakis concluded that game with a walk-off home run against the Phillies.