The Rockies visit the Rays as the two teams play the last opener of 2025. Kyle Freeland takes on Ryan Pepiot. The Rays open at their emergency home at George Steinbrenner field in Tampa. Freeland currently ranks fifth on the Rockies all-time win list, and a good season by him could raise him to second. Pepiot has a short but successful MLB career, with a 13-9 record and a 3.28 ERA in 208 1/3 innings. While stingy with hits, he has a tendency to give up the long ball.

The Braves and Padres continue their opening series with Reynaldo Lopez facing Dylan Cease. Lopez comes off his best season, posting a 1.99 ERA for the Braves in 135 2/3 innings. His big improvement came from cutting his home run run nearly in half from his career average. Cease tied his single season high in wins with 14 in 2024, and his 189 1/3 innings stands as the most he pitched in a year. He allowed just 11 home runs.

Finally, the Tigers and Dodgers offer another good pitching matchup as Jack Flaherty battles Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After two down seasons, Flaherty returned to form in 2024, pitching well for both the Tigers and Dodgers, and bringing home a World Series right. The Tigers brought him back at a good price, and also have a nice catching prospect as part of the transactions. Yamamoto produced a successful rookie year for Los Angels in just 90 innings. With his action in Tokyo, he is now 8-2 in 19 starts with a 2.94 ERA. He is extremely stingy issuing walks.

Enjoy!