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Last week, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs kicked off Major League Baseball's new season with a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan. Come Thursday, the rest of the league will get in on the fun by celebrating Opening Day 2025.

That includes the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers, two aspiring contenders who will kick off their respective seasons at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Red Sox, who haven't registered a winning season or made the playoffs since 2021, will be looking to compete in the tough American League East. Meantime, the Rangers, not far removed from their 2023 World Series title, are aiming to bounce back from a sub-.500 record in 2024 and contend in the balanced (but not necessarily strong) AL West.  

MLB Opening Day games are streaming locally on fubo (Try for free). Here's how to watch.

Red Sox vs. Rangers

Date: Thursday, March 27 | Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Location: Globe Life Field (Arlington, Tex.)
Live stream: fubo (Try for free), MLB.TV | TV: NESN, Rangers Sports Network, Victory+
Probable pitchers: LHP Garrett Crochet vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi
Odds: BOS -115; TEX -105; over/under: 7.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Storylines

Red Sox: After years of rebuilding and disinvestment on the part of ownership, the Red Sox are trying to matter again. The biggest move to this end came in the trade with the White Sox that brought them Crochet, their Opening Day starter as noted above. Also very much of note is the free-agent signing of Alex Bregman, who will be the team's new third baseman (Rafael Devers, after some hesitancy, will be the DH moving forward). Right-handed reboot project Walker Buehler is another name addition. 

Rangers: Texas is hoping for better health in 2025, as well as better performance from the drastically remade bullpen. Joc Pederson is new on the scene, and he'll be trying to repeat his highly productive work in 2024 with the Diamondbacks. The big question is whether ace Jacob deGrom can manage to stay healthy in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. Young contributors in the rotation and in the lineup will be vital to the team's success this season.