For the first time in franchise history, the Texas Rangers will take the field as the defending World Series champions. They'll do so in primetime Opening Day action Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs missed the playoffs last season by one game, coincidentally losing six of seven to the Diamondbacks to clear a path for the eventual NL champ and setting up the World Series matchup that the Rangers won.
This game gets its own time window. Nine of the 13 games (two game were rained out) start 4:10 p.m. ET or earlier with three games starting in the 10 p.m. ET hour. In between lies this one on national cable TV with the champs getting their showcase while the playoff-hopeful Cubs get a chance to show their stuff.
Cubs vs. Rangers
Date: Thursday, March 28 | Time: 7:35 p.m. ET
Location: Globe Life Field (Arlington, Texas)
Live stream: Fubo (try for free) | TV: ESPN
Probable pitchers: LHP Justin Steele vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi
Odds: CHC -105; TEX -115; over/under 8.0
Storylines
Rangers: They are dealing with rotation injuries to start the season (namely Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom), but the offense will be fully functional with Josh Jung and World Series MVP Corey Seager having healed from spring injuries. Marcus Semien will be in his leadoff spot, rookie Evan Carter will be in the middle of the lineup with postseason hero Adolis García and highly touted rookie Wyatt Langford joins the fray. This will very likely again be one of the best offenses in baseball. There's top-to-bottom firepower here and it'll be fun to see a full season of Carter in addition to what Langford can do.
Cubs: Steele followed a bit of a breakout 2022 season with an All-Star berth and top-five finish in Cy Young voting last season, truly emerging as an ace. He picked up the win and threw well the one time he saw the Rangers last season, though it was a windy, sub-60-degree April afternoon. Now he'll deal with the champs at home. On the other side, Seiya Suzuki hit .356/.414/.672 with 15 doubles, four triples, 11 homers, 37 RBI and 34 runs in his last 47 games last year and hit .459 with six homers in 37 at-bats this spring. Perhaps it's his MLB breakout season.
