When is MLB opening day 2025? Everything that is known about the schedule to start the Pitcher and Tokyo series at the beginning of the season

Rejoice, baseball fans because the regular MLB season started earlier than ever in 2025. Tuesday was the beginning of the Tokyo series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.

While spring training is still in full swing for most teams, the Cubs and Dodgers traveled to Tokyo for a two-game series, which is counting towards the regular season. The reigning Champion of Dodgers had a hot start and won the first game of the series 4-1 behind a strong start of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and some from Shohei Ohtani in good time.

When does the rest of the league begin to play games of the regular season with the cubs and Dodgers 2025 seasons, which are already underway? Here you will find everything you need to know about the MLB opening day 2025.

When is MLB opening day 2025?

For the Cubs and Dodgers, the opening day was technically in Tuesday, March 18, in Tokyo. You will play another game in the regular season on Wednesday before you fly back to the USA to complete spring training.

For 26 other MLB teams, the opening day takes place on Thursday, March 27th. 14 games are planned on this day. The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees will start things at 3:05 p.m. ET, and the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays will begin two minutes later. The last two games of the day – The Cubs vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks and The Athletics vs. the Seattle Mariners – begin at 10.10 p.m. Despite the regular season games on March 18 and 19, both the Cubs and Dodgers will play on March 27.

The Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays are the only two teams that play a game with a regular season until the 27th. These teams will open the season the following day on Friday, March 28th. The Rays and Rockies should start with the game on March 27, but the game was withdrawn for a day after hurricane Milton Tropicana Field damaged in October.

In fact, Tropicana Field will not be ready for the beginning of the season and the rays will forces George M. Steinbrenner Field to play their home games in Tampa this year, where the Yankees play their spring training games. The Rays pushed back their first regular season, so the stadium workers would have an additional day to change the baseball stadium of Yankees.

What is the MLB Tokyo series?

In order to start the regular season of 2025 MLB, the league decided to play two games between the Cubs and Dodgers in Tokyo a week before the domestic opening day. Both teams boast Japanese stars, including Ohtani, Yamamoto and the starter from Wednesday, Roki Sasaki, for the Dodgers as well as Seiya Suzuki and the starter of Tuesday, Shota Imanaga for the Cubs.

This is the second season in a row in which the league played its first regular game in overseas. The Dodgers and the San Diego Padres opened the 2024 MLB season with a two-game series in Korea, while the rest of the league was still in the middle of spring training.

MLB opening day 2025 schedule

As already mentioned, the Brewers and Yankees begin on March 27 at 3:05 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN is also transferred to the Detroit Tigers vs. Dodgers Contest, which starts at 7.10 p.m. These are the only two games that are broadcast nationally that day.

Full schedule of games March 27 (all Times Eastern):

• 3:05 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at New York Yankees

• 3:07 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles in Toronto Blue Jays

• 4:05 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox

• 4:05 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Washington National

• 4:10 p.m. – Cleveland Guardians in Kansas City Royals

• 4:10 p.m. – New York Mets in the Houston Astros

• 4:10 p.m. – San Francisco Giants in Cincinnati Reds

• 4:10 p.m. – Atlanta Braves in San Diego Padres

• 4:10 p.m. – Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox

• 4:10 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates in Miami Marlins

• 4:15 p.m. – Minnesota Twins in St. Louis Cardinals

• 7:10 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Dodgers

• 10:10 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks

• 10:10 p.m. – Athletics at Seattle Mariners

On March 28th, the Rayies Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay will play their first game of the regular season at 4.10 p.m.

MLB opening day 2025 Start jugs

After the regular season approaches quickly, some teams have already announced who will be on the hill for the opening day. The Dodgers asked Yamamoto to start game 1 of the Tokyo series, and he declined Imanaga in competition.

The following jugs receive the ball for their teams on domestic day:

• Freddy Peralta (MIL) against Carlos Rodón (Nyy)

• Zach Eflin (Bal) against José Berríos (goal)

• Garrett crochet (BOS) against Nathan Eovaldi (Tex)

• Zack Wheeler (Phi) against Mackenzie Gore (War)

• Tanner Bibee (Cle) against Cole Ragans (KCR)

• Clay Holmes (Nym) against Framber Valdez (Hou)

• Logan Webb (SFG) against Hunter Greene (Cin)

• Chris Sale (Atl) against Michael King (SDP)

• Yusei Kikuchi (Laa) against Sean Burke (CWS)

• Paul Slenes (pit) against Sandy Alcantara (Mia)

• Pablo López (min) against Sonny Gray (STL)

• Tarik Skubal (det) against TBD (boy)

• TBD (CHC) against TBD (ARI)

• Luis Severino (ATH) against Logan Gilbert (sea)

• TBD (COL) against Shane McClanahan (Tbr)*

*-Game on March 28th

The Cubs, Dodgers and Rockies are the only four teams who did not name their starters before their first games of the regular season after the Tokyo series.