The three best MLB matchups for Opening Day 2026

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball released the entire 2026 schedule, and despite the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement news breaking the internet, there was still plenty of buzz about what next year could hold.

With Opening Day set for March 26 for most MLB teams, let's look ahead to 2026 and see which three matchups might be the most entertaining.

New York Yankees at San Francisco Giants

MLB's Opening Night matchup on March 25 at Oracle Park between the Yankees and Giants will be the first game of the season.

San Francisco hopes to start 2026 off on a better foot than what the 2025 season has turned out to be, with the trade for Rafael Devers coinciding with a plummet in the standings for the Giants. 

Devers and Willy Adames are projected to be the faces of the franchise in 2026, something San Francisco hoped Aaron Judge would be for them when they chased him in free agency before the 2023 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Mets

Paul Skenes will almost certainly be the Opening Day starter for Pittsburgh. Will he be coming off a National League Cy Young Award win?

With the Mets, who knows what changes could happen in the offseason as owner Steve Cohen continues to try to figure out a way to get his team to be a perennial contender. 

Skenes vs. Juan Soto on Opening Day? That's must-watch television.

Kansas City Royals at Atlanta Braves

Another interleague matchup that will have plenty of reasons to watch, Atlanta will attempt to shake off a disappointing 2025 season that began with a 0-5 run in March.

Kansas City, meanwhile, will likely have Salvador Perez back behind the plate for his 15th season. If the Royals exercise the 35-year-old's 2026 team option, could the opener in Atlanta be the beginning of the end for Perez's storied career?