MLB Opening Day pitching matchups to watch out for

Each spring, Opening Day provides fans with their first official look at their favorite teams after a long offseason filled with trades, free agent signings and coaching turnover.

As we await a full slate of games this Thursday, the season is already technically underway, as the Dodgers took both games of the Tokyo Series last week against the Cubs.

A pitcher getting the call to start on Opening Day is one of the highest honors a manager can bestow upon a hurler. Here’s a look into some of the most exciting ace matchups we’ll be blessed with.

Dom’s Picks:

Guardians at Royals: Bibee vs. Ragans

Tanner Bibee draws the Opening Day nod for the Guardians, opposing Royals ace Cole Ragans. For Bibee, it’ll mark his first start to open the season in his career, and one that the Guardians hope will be the first of many.

In Bibee’s first two seasons in the Major Leagues, he pitched to the tune of a sterling 3.25 ERA over 56 starts. He’s struck out 9.7 batters per nine innings pitched.

With incumbent ace Shane Bieber still on the mend from Tommy John surgery, Bibee hopes to keep Cleveland’s starting staff afloat as they hope to rebound from their NLCS exit last season.

Ragans, on the other hand, will be making his second consecutive Opening Day start. As a possible Cy Young Award frontrunner in the American League, Ragans dominated in his first full season as a starter in 2024, notching 223 strikeouts, coupled with an ERA of 3.14.

He keeps the ball in the ballpark better than nearly every pitcher in the league, having only allowed 15 home runs last year.

Ragans got the call despite a loaded Kansas City rotation, which also includes Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. This matchup is as good as it gets in terms of young starters going head to head.

Giants at Reds: Webb vs. Greene

In Cincinnati, the ever-durable Logan Webb will take on flamethrowing righty Hunter Greene to kick off the year. Webb is taking the ball for his fourth consecutive Opening Day start, compared to Green, who is once again back on the hill for the opener after getting the nod back in 2023.

Webb has garnered Cy Young award attention in each of the past three seasons, while pitching to a nifty 3.22 ERA in that span and also leading the Major Leagues in innings pitched with 613.

He’ll look to lead the Giants into the playoffs in 2025, although they face an uphill battle in the stacked NL West.

Greene took a leap forward last season, finally breaking out with an ERA of 2.75, by far his lowest mark as a major leaguer. His strikeout numbers actually fell last year to his lowest rate in a season, but he still throws 100 miles per hour with regularity.

If he can continue to limit hard contact and keep the ball in the yard at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark, he’ll finally establish himself as one of the best pitchers in the big leagues.

The two righties go about their work very differently, but have the pedigrees to make this a must-watch matchup.

Jacob’s Picks:

Phillies at Nationals: Wheeler vs. Gore

The Phillies look to DC to start off the season right with their ace. With Wheeler toeing the rubber usually means a Phillies win. Last season the Phillies went 16-7 with Zack on the mound.

Wheeler has meant a lot to this Phillies team over the years, earning 2 All-Star appearances, a gold glove and was the NL strikeout leader in 2021.

This Phillies rotation is ranked 2nd going into the season which is interesting. A big reason why I criticize the rotation is the injury to Ranger Suarez. With the lackluster Tijuan Walker taking his place, we will have to see how the Phillies fare with him in the fifth spot of the rotation.

The Phillies went out in rough fashion last year losing their division rival New York Mets. Wheeler pitched well in his outing to end his season allowing 0 runs in 7 innings.

The Nationals are coming off of a forgettable season last year going 71-91 and finishing 4th in the NL East. A bright spot for this team is that they are young. Part of that young core includes James Wood, Dylan Crews and the opening day starter Mackenzie Gore.

Mackenzie Gore has been one of the better pitchers for the Nationals over the last 2 seasons he has been with the team.

He looks forward to the 2025 season on an upward trajectory in strikeouts. The 6’2 first round draft pick will want to continue getting better with a struggling Nats rotation.

Mackenzie Gore is going to be faced with a tough task on Thursday with a deep Phillies lineup with a solid 1-5 with a few left to reveal themselves later in the lineup.

Tigers at Dodgers: Skubal vs. Snell

Probably the best matchup of the opening day slate.​ The reigning world champions face the up-and-coming Tigers.

Blake Snell takes the ball for his third career opening day start. Snell signed with the Dodgers this offseason with a 5-year, 182 million dollar deal.

Blake has been good for most of his career and was a good addition to the already star-studded Dodger rotation. Snell has been stellar over his career going to the World Series with the Rays and then due to injury and contract began bouncing around a few years after that.

He spent last season with the Giants where he started only 20 games. The 32 year old lefty looks to correct that trend in 2025.

While his career is illustrious, if there is anything that the Tigers learned from last year, it is they do not care how big their opponent is. They are the tough underdogs of the league and proved themselves late last season against all odds making the playoffs.

This Tigers team is ready to pounce on the 2025 MLB season with a fast start against the number 1 ranked rotation in the league.

Tarik Skubal looks to continue his tear that he had last season. The reigning Cy Young award winner was unhittable, boasting an 18-4 record with 228 strikeouts and only 35 free passes.

He was on fire and truly separated himself by becoming a leader on the team. There is no bigger test for an elite pitcher than to go up against the best lineup in baseball.

While the MLB has already kicked off in Tokyo, this season is going to be a fun one. There are many rookies and stars that will shine their brightest this year.

Names like Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper, and Shohei Ohtani are the faces of the league. Truly a golden era of baseball. Make sure you can catch all the action from these games on Opening Day 2025.

Dominick Pizzelanti is a second-year student dual-majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email dqp5565@psu.edu.

Jacob Gold is a first-year student majoring in communications. To contact him, email jrg6474@psu.edu.