Number 3: Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs (Thursday)
Any time the Brewers and Cubs get together, there’s a little extra something in terms of motivation for both teams. Defending National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Brewers and fans will get to see Andrew McCutchen, Christian Yelich, and Hunter Renfroe all in the same Milwaukee lineup. Chicago, meanwhile, is trying to turn the page to the next chapter, with outfielder Seiya Suzuki anxious to show he can make an impact in his MLB debut.
Number 2: New York Mets at Washington Nationals (Thursday)
The New York Mets had quite a quandary for this one: Start Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer? New skipper Buck Showalter went with deGrom so the Nationals reunion with Scherzer will have to wait.
Note: Things changed dramatically for deGrom and the Mets after a recent MRI however.
Plenty of changes happened in the offseason in New York (will the new faces bring a different result for the Mets?), while Washington will launch the Juan Soto for MVP train against their division rivals. Nelson Cruz returns to the National League for the first time since 2005 as the Washington designated hitter.
Number 1: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees (Thursday)
The last time these two teams saw each other, Boston was celebrating a 6-2 win over the Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game at Fenway Park. Now, the two rivals open the 2022 season at Yankee Stadium with plenty to prove. For the Yankees, will the trade with the Minnesota Twins that altered their catching position and the left side of the infield be enough in what was a fairly quiet offseason in the Bronx? Meanwhile, Boston made a late spring splash by bringing All-Star shortstop Trevor Story on board to play second base and is counting on veterans new to the rotation to carry the starting pitching.
How will the very different offseason plans work for both teams? We’ll get our first glimpse on Thursday.