Setting the table for MLB Opening Day
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Get your hot dogs, smell the fresh-cut grass, and maybe enjoy some cracker jacks. The boys of summer are back.
With the season beginning in Seoul, South Korea last week in a two-game series featuring the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, a majority of major league baseball teams will have their opening day Thursday, looking to be the team hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy at the end of the World Series.
The New York Yankees will take on the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston at 4:10 p.m. Lefty Nestor Cortes gets the start for the Yankees with reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole going down with an elbow injury, that'll sideline him for one to two months. Cortes matches up against southpaw Framber Valdez for the Astros. The game can be watched on YES Network.
The Yankees are coming off a fourth-place finish in the American League East in 2023, with a record of 82-80. With the addition of Juan Soto, who finished 2023 with 35 home runs, 109 runs batted in, a .930 OPS, and a league-leading 132 walks, the Yankees will look to make their way back to the postseason in 2024.
The New York Mets were slotted to start their season against the Milwaukee Brewers at 1:10 p.m. at Citi Field in Flushing Queens, however, their game has been postponed and pushed back their season opener to Friday. Under new manager Carlos Mendoza, the Mets will look to turn around a 75-87 finish from the 2023 season. The team finished fourth place in the National League East last season.
With the return of all-star reliever Edwin Diaz, who missed the entire 2023 season due to a right patellar tendon tear, the Mets too will look to get back to the postseason just two seasons removed from winning 101 games.
The Boston Red Sox open their season on the West Coast against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The game starts at 10:10 p.m. and can be watched on NESN.
24-year-old Brayan Bello gets the start for the Sox against three-time all-star Luis Castillo for the Mariners. The Red Sox locked up Bello on a $55M contract extension over the next six years. After finishing 78-84, fifth in the American League East in 2023, the Red Sox went out and signed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, who suffered a right elbow injury and underwent surgery expected to sideline him for the entire 2024 season. They'll look to get their season started on a good note against the M's in this upcoming four-game series.
All Opening Day matchups and starting times can be found online.
In 2023, the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks four games to one in the fall classic, winning the franchise's first-ever World Series title. Opening Day will offer a clean slate, a fresh start for all teams looking to bring home a title at the end of the grueling 162-game season.