The 2018 MLB regular season is finally upon us, and this year we had to wait as little time as ever before. All 30 teams are in action today as the season opens on a Thursday in March. Totally normal.
The Rockies begin their season by taking a short drive from Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. That is one of the later games happening today, so if you’d like to fill your eyeballs with baseball action, there are plenty of options.
ESPN has a quadruple-header starting with the Cubs visiting the Marlins at 10:40 am MT, shortly after your second cup of coffee (which you may need to watch the Marlins this year). Jon Lester takes the mound for the Cubs while Jose Urena gets the ball for the Marlins. The Pirates and Tigers will face off at 11:10 am in Detroit along with the Cardinals and Mets in Queens (Carlos Martinez against Noah Syndergaard will be a treat for those with MLB.tv or Extra Innings).
The next wave comes at after lunch: nine games start between 1 p.m. and 2:10 p.m., including the defending champion Houston Astros facing the Texas Rangers on ESPN at 1:35 p.m.; Justin Verlander will start for the Astros against Cole Hamels for the Rangers.
At 5 p.m., while everyone is heading home from a long day at work, division rivals square off in Los Angeles. The Dodgers, fresh off their first NL pennant in 29 years, host the San Francisco Giants and we get another Clayton Kershaw vs. Madison Bumgarner showdown. First pitch is at 5:08 p.m. on ESPN. It’ll be the only game on until the Rockies start.
Finally, at the late hour of 8:10 p.m. in Denver, head to AT&T Sportsnet (or MLB.tv or Extra Innings) to see Jon Gray and Robbie Ray face off in the desert. If you still want more baseball, the Cleveland Indians will be visiting the Seattle Mariners at the same time broadcasted on ESPN.
Thursday’sOpening Day schedule
All times Mountain. Out of market games available on MLB.tv and MLB Extra Innings.
10:40 a.m. — Chicago Cubs at Miami Marlins
Marlins Park | Miami, Fla.
Jon Lester vs. Jose Urena
TV: ESPN, WatchESPN | Announcers:
11:10 a.m. — Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers
Comerica Park | Detroit, Mich.
Ivan Nova vs. Jordan Zimmermann
11:10 a.m. — St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets
Citi Field | Queens, N.Y.
Carlos Martinez vs. Noah Syndergaard
1:05 p.m. — Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles
Oriole Park at Camden Yards | Baltimore, Md.
Jake Odorizzi vs. Dylan Bundy
1:35 p.m. — Houston Astros at Texas Rangers
Globe Life Stadium| Arlington, Texas
Justin Verlander vs. Cole Hamels
TV: ESPN, WatchESPN | Announcers:
1:37 p.m. — New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays
Rogers Centre | Toronto, Ont., Canada
Luis Severino vs. J.A. Happ
2:00 p.m. — Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
Tropicana Field | St. Petersberg, Fla.
Chris Sale vs. Chris Archer
2:05 p.m. — Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics
Oakland Coliseum | Oakland, Calif.
Garrett Richards vs. Kendall Graveman
2:10 p.m. — Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres
Petco Park | San Diego, Calif.
Chase Anderson vs. Clayton Richard
2:10 p.m. — Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
SunTrust Park | Cobb County, Georgia.
Aaron Nola vs. Julio Teheran
Postponed — Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ball Park | Cincinnati, Ohio
2:15 p.m. — Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Kauffman Stadium | Kansas City, Misso.
James Shields vs. Danny Duffy
5:08 p.m. — San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
Madison Bumgarner vs. Clayton Kershaw
TV: ESPN, WatchESPN | Announcers:
8:10 p.m. — Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks
Chase Field | Phoenix, Ariz.
Jon Gray vs. Robbie Ray
TV: AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mountain | Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
8:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners
Safeco Field | Seattle, Wash.
Corey Kluber vs. James Paxton
TV: ESPN, WatchESPN | Announcers: