MLB Opening Day is finally here. The 2024 baseball season gets started in earnest on Thursday, with almost all Major League Baseball teams in action. Originally, all 30 MLB teams were slated to play, but there were two rainouts on Thursday's schedule: Mets vs. Brewers in New York and Phillies vs. Braves in Philadelphia have to wait until Friday to start their seasons thanks to Mother Nature. Everyone else will be taking the field Thursday.
Yes, the 2024 MLB regular season technically started last week with the two-game Seoul Series between the Dodgers and Padres in South Korea, but Thursday marks the true start of the season. The 2024 MLB Opening Day schedule gets started at 3:05 p.m. ET with Orioles vs. Angels at Camden Yards.
A majority of the games will be held in the afternoon, including Dodgers vs. Cardinals and Astros vs. Yankees. The reigning champion Rangers will celebrate their 2023 World Series title before they host the Cubs at 7:35 p.m. ET, and Mariners vs. Red Sox is an intriguing part of a three-game nightcap.
Injuries have taken a few big-name starters out of the Opening Day picture with Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga among those who are sidelined. But aces like Corbin Burnes and Logan Webb will still be on the hill. Opening Day will also see Juan Soto's first game for the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani's home debut for his new team at Dodger Stadium -- and also his first regular-season game in front of home fans since news broke about a gambling scandal involving MLB's biggest star and his now-former interpreter.
When is MLB Opening Day in 2024?
Following the Dodgers-Padres two-game series in Seoul, South Korea, Major League Baseball’s 2024 season begins in earnest this Thursday, Mar. 28.
2024 MLB Opening Day
When: Thursday, March 28th and Friday, March 29th
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch now for free)
Here's a complete look at the MLB Opening Day schedule.
Orioles vs. Angels (Corbin Burnes vs. Patrick Sandoval), 3:05 p.m. ET
Reds vs. Nationals (Frankie Montas vs. Josiah Gray), 4:10 p.m. ET
Padres vs. Giants (Yu Darvish vs. Logan Webb), 4:10 p.m. ET
Dodgers vs. Cardinals (Tyler Glasnow vs. Miles Mikolas), 4:10 p.m. ET
Rays vs. Blue Jays (Zach Eflin vs. José Berríos), 4:10 p.m. ET
Marlins vs. Pirates (Jesús Luzardo vs. Mitch Keller), 4:10 p.m. ET
Royals vs. Twins (Cole Ragans vs. Pablo López), 4:10 p.m. ET
Astros vs. Yankees (Framber Valdez vs. Nestor Cortes), 4:10 p.m. ET
White Sox vs. Tigers (Garrett Crochet vs. Tarik Skubal), 4:10 p.m. ET
Rangers vs. Cubs (Nathan Eovaldi vs. Justin Steele), 7:35 p.m. ET
Athletics vs. Guardians (Alex Wood vs. Shane Bieber), 10:07 p.m. ET
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies (Zac Gallen vs. Kyle Freeland), 10:10 p.m. ET
Mariners vs. Red Sox (Luis Castillo vs. Brayan Bello), 10:10 p.m. ET
Friday, March 29 (openers rescheduled due to rain)
Mets vs. Brewers (Jose Quintana vs. Freddy Peralta), 1:40 p.m. ET
Phillies vs. Braves (Zack Wheeler vs. Spencer Strider), 3:05 p.m. ET
What channel is baseball on in 2024?
Currently, nationally televised MLB games air across a mix of FOX, FS1, TBS, ESPN, ABC and MLB Network. The streaming platform, Apple TV+, is the exclusive home of Friday Night Baseball again this year.
And of course, for games that aren’t nationally broadcast, there’s always regional sports networks (RSNs). A majority of MLB Opening Day games will unfortunately only air on RSNs. So if you want to tune into a game that isn’t airing on your local RSN, you may want to try out an MLB.TV subscription (which offers a free trial)
How to watch MLB games without cable:
If you want to watch most of the games on Opening Day, MLB.TV is the way. For $29.99/month or $149.99 for the whole year, you can stream every out-of-market MLB game live — except for nationally televised games, you'll still need another streaming service for those. You'll also get access to every MLB game replay. You can try out MLB.TV for free before committing to the platform.
DirecTV’s Choice tier will get you the essential channels for the 2024 MLB season, including Fox, FS1, TBS, ABC and MLB Network. Right now, they're offering a month of their Sports Pack add-on (typically $14.99/month) for free when you sign up, plus three months of free Max, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, STARZ, MGM+ and Cinemax. The Choice tier typically starts at $109/month, but you can get the first three months for $99/month.
DirecTV also includes plenty of local and sports channels. And every DirecTV subscriber, regardless of tier, enjoys access to an unlimited cloud DVR. You can try DirecTV free before committing to the platform.
Friday Night Baseball features two games every week, exclusively on Apple TV+. Subscribers to the Apple streaming platform can watch marquee baseball games every Friday, free from local broadcast restrictions, plus access to a 24/7 livestream with MLB game replays, news and analysis, highlights and classic games, and MLB Big Inning, a live show with highlights and look-ins airing every weeknight during the 2024 regular season. Apart from baseball, Apple TV+ offers tons of original shows including Ted Lasso, The Crowded Room, Hijack and Silo, plus movies like Ghosted, CODA, Tetris and more. An Apple TV+ subscription costs $9.99/month. The platform offers a one week free trial period for new users, and three months of Apple TV+ free with the purchase of an eligible Apple device.
$9.99/month at Apple TV+
How to watch a blacked out MLB game:
Subscribed to MLB.TV and bummed you can't catch your local team's games without also adding a pricey live TV streaming subscription to your tab? We’ve got a hack for you. Because MLB.TV uses your streaming device's IP address to determine whether or not you get to watch a game, you can still stream local baseball games through MLB.TV with the help of a VPN.
A VPN (virtual private network) helps protect your data, but most importantly for streaming, it can mask your IP address, and help you stream local sports games from anywhere (including the blacked out zone). So pairing a VPN with an MLB.TV subscription should give you the power to stream even in-market games. Looking to try a VPN for the first time? This guide breaks down the best VPN options for every kind of user.
ExpressVPN offers “internet without borders,” meaning you can tune into that in-market baseball game you've been dying to watch but know is blacked out on MLB.TV. All you'll need to do is sign up for ExpressVPN and change your server location to a state where the game isn't restricted (or even to Canada!).
ExpressVPN’s added protection, speed and range of location options makes it an excellent choice for first-time VPN users looking to stretch their streaming abilities, plus, it's Endgadget's top pick for the best streaming VPN. New users can save 49% when they sign up for ExpressVPN’s 12-month subscription. Plus, the service offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in case you're nervous about trying a VPN.
