On March 25, the 2026 Major League Baseball season began with a game between the Yankees and Giants in San Francisco, with the Yankees running away to a 7-0 victory. The following day, 20 of the other 30 teams began their seasons, with the remaining 8 beginning their season on Friday, Mar. 27. Now that opening weekend officially over, here are some of the highlights from an action-packed slate of games to begin the season:
Christopher Sanchez shines in Opening Day start, Jhoan Duran makes Phillies history
Opening their season against the Texas Rangers, Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez dominated for six innings, allowing no runs or walks, just three hits, and striking out 10, marking the first time that a Phillies starter had struck out 10 or more batters on Opening Day since Curt Schilling in 1997. After a rocky start to the ninth inning, in which the Rangers managed two runs against Kyle Backhus, closer Jhoan Duran picked up the save, with just one more run scoring, making him the first Phillie to record a save at home on Opening Day in team history.
Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter gets out to a roaring start
Chase DeLauter, a highly touted Guardians prospect who struggled frequently with injuries in the past, briefly debuted in the 2025 Postseason during the Wild Card Series, but made his regular season debut on March 26. DeLauter instantly made an impact, going 3-5 with two home runs, but didn’t stop there, adding a home run in each of the next two games, including a crucial go-ahead one against Mariners closer Andres Munoz on March 28, which led to a 6-5 win in extra innings against Seattle. DeLauter joins Trevor Story as the only other player with four home runs in their first three MLB games, plus former Mariner Kyle Lewis as the only ones to homer in each of their first three MLB games, but that list would shortly be expanded just a day later.
Munetaka Murakami makes his presence known in the US
One of the most divisive free agents in the 2025-26 offseason, prized Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami was praised for his excellent power but drew criticism for his tendency to strikeout and concerns over whether he could hit well against high-velocity fastballs. Murakami has done everything he can so far to disprove those claims, joining the aforementioned list of players to homer in their first three MLB games by hitting one each in the White Sox’s opening series against the Brewers. While Murakami has struck out four times in his first three games, he has offset those swing-and-miss concerns with an equal amount of walks, leading to an early on-base percentage of .538.
Mike Trout turns back the clock
Largely considered one of the best players in baseball history during his prime, Mike Trout has been slowed down by frequent injury issues since the beginning of the 2020s. While he stayed mostly healthy in 2025, he struggled greatly with strikeouts, with a 32% strikeout rate that ranked among one of the league’s worst, and saw his sprint speed drop from 28.9 to 27.9 in 2025, bringing him closer to league average than he had ever been in his career. But Trout, determined in Spring Training to prove he was healthy again, has shown some signs of his vintage self again, homering in the first two games of the Angels’ season, and walking three times in the season opener, picking up a stolen base.
Prospects shine in MLB debuts
Opening Day rosters across the league were littered with a mix of intriguing top prospects, including MLB Pipeline’s second-best prospect Kevin McGonigle (Tigers), fifth-best J.J. Wetherholt (Cardinals), 14th-ranked Carson Benge (Mets) and 51st-ranked Justin Crawford (Phillies). Each of these players made fast first impressions, with McGonigle going 4-5 in his debut, ripping a 2-run double on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues. Benge and Wetherholt each hit home runs for their first MLB hit in their debuts, with the latter adding a walk-off single in his second MLB game. Not to be outdone, the contact-hitting Crawford, son of former MLB All-Star Carl, ripped a single on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues, ultimately picking up two hits in his debut. The Phillies are awaiting the long-anticipated first MLB start of Pipeline’s #26 prospect, Andrew Painter, which is set for March 31.
Familiar faces dazzle in new threads
A number of notable players switched teams during the 2025-26 offseason, and many of them endeared themselves in a swift manner. Dylan Cease, the first domino to fall in the offseason by signing a seven-year contract with the Blue Jays, wowed in his debut north of the border, striking out 12 over 5.1 innings against the Athletics, allowing just one run. In his third game with the Cubs, third baseman Alex Bregman crushed two home runs, doing his best to prevent an eventual 6-3 loss to the Nationals. Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker, the newest additions to an already unstoppable Dodgers roster, were vital to LA’s victory over the Diamondbacks on March 27, with Tucker delivering a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, and Diaz closing it out in the ninth. Luis Robert Jr., one of the major additions in the Mets’ roster overhaul, hit a walk-off 3-run home run in the Mets’ second game of the year.
While the long, 162-game grind has just begun for all 30 MLB teams, Opening Weekend has given many of these fans something to get excited to watch all season long, whether it be up-and-coming rookies, breakout candidates, or old friends on new teams.
