MLB Opening Day: Where can I watch? What are the big games? What are the best bets?

Congratulations, you have succeeded. The baseball off-season is over and we’re heading full steam ahead to Opening Day on Thursday.

In just a few short hours, pitchers from all 30 MLB teams will take the mound, with renewed optimism and renewed hope that this could be *their* year.

There have been plenty of changes, all of which we’ll discuss here, and there’s perhaps more excitement among fans than ever before.

Here, dailymail.com will walk you through everything you need to know before Opening Day, including where to watch, what all the big games are, who’s pitching for which team, and some of the best bets…

First of all, the matches and where to watch them…

Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals – 1:05 p.m. EST (Bally SE, MASN, MLB Network)

San Francisco Giants @ New York Yankees – 1:05 p.m. EST (NBCS Bay Area, YES, MLBN)

Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox – 2:10 pm EST (MASN2, NESN)

Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs — 2:20 p.m. EST (Bally Wisconsin, MARQ)

Detroit Tigers @ Tampa Bay Rays – 3:10 p.m. EST (Bally Detroit, Bally Sun, MLBTV)

Philadelphia Phillies @ Texas Rangers – 4:05 pm EST (Bally New Orleans, Bally Oklahoma, Bally Southeast, Bally Southwest Xtra, ESPN+)

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds — 4:10 p.m. EST (ATTSN Pittsburgh, Bally Ohio)

Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres – 4:10 pm EST (ATTSN Rocky Mountains, Bally San Diego)

Toronto Blue Jays @ St Louis Cardinals – 4:10 p.m. EST (Sportsnet, Bally Mid West)

Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals – 4:10 pm EST (Bally Kansas City, Bally North)

New York Mets @ Miami Marlins – 4:10 pm EST (SNY, MLB Network, Bally Florida)

Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros – 7:08 pm EST (ESPN, TSN4, TVA Sports)

Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Raiders – 10:07 p.m. EST (Bally West, NBCSCA, MLBN)

Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10:10 p.m. EST (Bally Arizona, SNLA)

Cleveland Guardians @ Seattle Mariners – 10:10 p.m. EST (Bally Great Lakes, Root Sports, MLB Network)

Who is pitching?

Max Fried vs. Patrick Corbin: Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals – 1:05 pm EST

Logan Webb vs. Gerrit Cole: San Francisco Giants @ New York Yankees – 1:05 pm EST

Kyle Gibson vs. Corey Kluber: Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox – 2:10 pm EST

Corbin Burnes vs. Marcus Stroman: Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs – 2:20 pm EST

Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Shane McClanahan: Detroit Tigers @ Tampa Bay Rays – 3:10 pm EST

Aaron Nola vs. Jacob deGrom: Philadelphia Phillies @ Texas Rangers – 4:05 pm EST

Mitch Keller vs. Hunter Greene: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds – 4:10 pm EST

German Marquez vs. Blake Snell: Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres – 4:10 pm

Alek Manoah vs. Miles Mikolas: Toronto Blue Jays @ St. Louis Cardinals – 4:10 pm EST

Pablo Lopez vs. Zack Greinke: Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals – 4:10 pm EST

Max Scherzer vs. Sandy Alcantara: New York Mets @ Miami Marlins – 4:10 pm EST

Dylan Cease vs. Framber Valdez: Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros – 7:08 pm EST

Shohei Ohtani vs. Kyle Muller: Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Raiders – 10:07 pm EST

Zac Gallen vs. Julio Urías: Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 22:10 EST

Shane Bieber vs. Luis Castillo: Cleveland Rangers @ Seattle Mariners – 10:10 pm EST

Games to watch out for

The Unicorn of Los Angeles Shohei Ohtani

Fresh off leading Japan to the WBC crown from the mound against his Los Angeles teammate Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani hopes to replicate his form, this time on the same team as Trout.

Predicted as one of the early favorites to steal the AL MVP title from Yankees star slugger Aaron Judge, the Angels’ pitcher/designated hitter is something of a unicorn.

All eyes will be on the right-hander’s wicked pitching in his second straight Opening Day start in an attempt to beat the Aces.

Houston, do we have takeoff again?

The Astros have been the dominant force in the American League since completing their controversial rebuild in the mid-2010s, most recently defeating the Yankees to an outright win in the ALCS.

This year it’s more of the same, despite losing No. 1 starter Justin Verlander in free agency to the Mets.

All eyes will be on the reigning champs as they look to start their World Series defense against the Chicago White Sox.

Can Aaron Judge keep bombing it in the Bronx?

American League MVP Aaron Judge had a 2022 to remember, breaking Rodger Maris’ record for home runs with 62 in the regular season.

The Yankees’ star slugger was rewarded with a new nine-year, $360 million contract to stay in the Bronx and the captaincy of the only franchise he really wanted to play for.

Judge and the Bronx Bombers will face off in an interesting Opening Day matchup when they take on the San Francisco Giants, the same team that came close to stealing it from him in free agency during the offseason.

The 6-foot-7 star will be hoping to prove a point against his former fans, but can he get Aaron Boone’s team off to the perfect start as they look to take it one step further this season?

The Mets’ mega-money moves are set to pay off

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has spent a lot of cash during the win, adding players like Justin Verlander, Brandon Nimmo and Kodai Senga.

However, they lost Edwin Diaz indefinitely after the star relief pitcher suffered a freak knee injury in the WBC. Without a doubt, the Mets’ chances of bringing home a title for the first time since 1986 have been reduced by Diaz’s long absence, but the Mets still have plenty of stars on their roster.

It will be interesting to see if the Mets’ big investments pay off and the team Cohen has painstakingly built can come together to give the franchise a proper shot at the World Series.

What are the rule changes?

Well, there’s been a lot… here’s a quick rundown (sort of) of exactly what’s changed for the start of the 2023 season.

POINT CLOCK: The shot clock is intended to speed up the pace of play by eliminating downtime between shots. Players will have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds with no one and 20 seconds with a runner. The pitcher must start his pitch before the clock expires. After a pitch, the clock starts again when the pitcher recovers the ball, the catcher and batter are in the circle around home plate, and play is ready to resume.

LIMITS ON LAUNCHER DISCONNECTS: Pitchers may only leave the pitching plate, either to call a timeout or to attempt a pickoff pitch, twice per plate appearance. After a pitcher has used both of his uncouples, he can still attempt a pickoff, but it had better be successful. If the baserunner returns safely, a balk is evaluated and the runner advances. If a runner advances during a plate appearance, the disengagement limit is reset. Mound visits, injury timeouts, and offensive team timeouts are not considered releases.

ON FIELD TURN LIMITS: The infield shift, placing three or more infielders on one side of second base, usually with one positioned in the outfield, has been a popular trend for the past decade, and many believe it has contributed to the decline in chopped batting averages. The new rule states that all four infielders must have both feet inside the outer boundary of the infield and two infielders must be on each side of second base when a pitch is thrown.

LARGER BASES: New, larger bases have been introduced to improve player safety and modestly encourage more stolen base attempts. The bases are now 18 square inches, instead of 15 square inches. Home plate is now three inches closer to first and third bases, while the corner bases are now 4 1/2 inches closer to second base.

The best bets in the entire league

Orioles at Red Sox to be highest-scoring starting game: +650 in DraftReyes

Twins will be the team with the highest score in the opening day: +1300 in DraftReyes

Aaron Judge to repeat as MLB home run leader: +550 favorite in betMGM

Shohei Ohtani to win AL MVP: +200 favorite in Sports betting YES