Eight Cy Young Award winners to pitch on Opening Day
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[March 25, 2023]
Opening Day will feature eight former Cy Young Award winners,
including three-time winner Max Scherzer of the New York Mets facing
off against reigning National League winner Sandy Alcantara of the
Miami Marlins.
As part of an effort to increase interest in the first game of a
season that will include a pitch clock, teams announced their
Opening Day starters Friday.
Among the other marquee March 30 matchups is two-time winner Jacob
deGrom making his Texas Rangers debut against a former National
League East rival, fellow righty Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia
Phillies. Fresh off a World Series appearance, Nola will make his
sixth consecutive Opening Day start, which is the longest current
active streak.
Los Angeles Angels star righty Shohei Ohtani, who won the World
Baseball Classic MVP award, will toe the slab against the Oakland
Athletics' Kyle Muller, who has the least experience of any Opening
Day starter (49 innings over 11 starts).
With his New York Yankees among the World Series favorites entering
the season, ace righty Gerrit Cole will oppose San Francisco Giants
righty Logan Webb in the opener.
The defending champion Houston Astros will send lefty Framber Valdez
to the hill against Chicago White Sox righty Dylan Cease, while 2020
American League Cy Young winner Shane Bieber will lead the Cleveland
Guardians against righty Luis Castillo and the Seattle Mariners.
Righty Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, who won the NL Cy
Young in 2021, takes the hill against Chicago Cubs righty Marcus
Stroman, who has started two previous openers.
San Diego Padres lefty Blake Snell, the 2018 AL recipient, starts
against Colorado Rockies righty German Marquez, who will make his
third Opening Day appearance. In Boston, two-time winner Corey
Kluber guides the Red Sox against fellow righty Kyle Gibson and the
Baltimore Orioles.
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Righty Zack Greinke, the AL Cy Young winner in
2009, will make his third Opening Day start for the Kansas City
Royals, opposing first-time Opening Day starter Pablo Lopez and the
Minnesota Twins.
Lefty Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who finished third in
the 2022 NL Cy Young voting, makes his first Opening Day start,
opposing Arizona Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen, who placed fifth.
A pair of lefties, the Atlanta Braves' Max Fried and the Washington
Nationals' Patrick Corbin, will face off as both start on Opening
Day for the third time.
In his first Opening Day nod, Detroit Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez
will take on Tampa Bay Rays righty Shane McClanahan, making his
second straight season-opening start.
Coming off a third-place AL Cy Young finish, Toronto Blue Jays
righty Alek Manoah will face St. Louis Cardinals righty Miles
Mikolas, who reportedly reached a two-year extension with the club
Friday. Mikolas will make his second Opening Day start after Adam
Wainwright went on the injured list with a groin strain.
In a matchup of first-time Opening Day starters, the Pittsburgh
Pirates' Mitch Keller takes on fellow righty Hunter Greene of the
Cincinnati Reds.
--Field Level Media
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