Major League Baseball’s 2026 schedule features the earliest traditional Opening Day in history.
The league announced next year’s 162-game schedule and while the season officially begins on March 25 with the San Francisco Giants hosting the New York Yankees in primetime, baseball’s other 28 clubs start their campaigns on March 26. That’s a day earlier than the league’s previous earliest Opening Day (excluding special season-openers and international openers) of March 27.
The 2026 All-Star festivities will be held in Philadelphia in July, with the 96th edition of the Midsummer Classic scheduled for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia is hosting the All-Star Game for the first time since 1996, back when the Phillies played at Veterans Stadium.
MLB also had to work around match days for the 2026 World Cup, scheduling a June doubleheader between the Mariners and Boston Red Sox to avoid a soccer game on Friday in Seattle. The schedule also includes built-in off days to accommodate matches in Arlington, Texas, Philadelphia and Kansas City.
The 2026 regular season comes to an end on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Here’s a look at some of the key dates on MLB’s 2026 schedule:
March 25: Yankees at Giants on Opening Night
Aaron Judge and the Yankees visit Oracle Park to officially start the 2026 regular season in a showdown between two of MLB’s marquee franchises. The rivalry dates back more than a century to the GIants’ days in New York, with the teams’ first matchup coming in the 1921 World Series. It’s the second time in four years that the teams are meeting in their season openers, further normalizing the interleague matchup that had never occurred in the regular season prior before 2002.
March 26: Opening Day proper
MLB’s other 28 teams begin their season on Thursday, March 26, the earliest traditional Opening Day in the history of baseball. Here’s a look at all the matchups
- Red Sox at Reds
- Pirates at Mets
- Athletics at Blue Jays
- Twins at Orioles
- Rangers at Phillies
- Royals at Braves
- Rockies at Marlins
- Angels at Astros
- Nationals at Cubs
- Rays at Cardinals
- White Sox at Brewers
- Diamondbacks at Dodgers
- Tigers at Padres
- Guardians at Mariners
April 15: Jackie Robinson Day
All 30 teams are in action on Jackie Robinson Day in 2026, with the epicenter of baseball’s annual celebration being a perfectly-timed Dodgers-Mets game in Los Angeles. MLB retired Robinson’s No. 42 in 1997, 50 years after he broke the color barrier and became the league’s first Black player. But on April 15, players around the league all wear the number.
June 8-10, June 10-12: Athletics in Las Vegas
Based in Sacramento until moving to Sin City in 2028, the Athletics will host two series at the minor league Las Vegas Ballpark in June, giving a preview to their future fans in Nevada.
July 13: Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park
The Phillies’ stadium is one of the most homer-happy parks in baseball, so expect some gaudy totals in the 2026 Derby. Will Bryce Harper participate? The two-time MVP last took part in 2018 at Nationals Park, winning the slugfest in front of his then-hometown fans in Washington.
July 14: MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia
The 96th edition of the Midsummer Classic is the first in Philadelphia since 1996 at Veterans Stadium. The American League has won 10 of the last 12 All-Star Games, but the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber won the MVP award in the National League’s 2025 victory.
Sept. 27: Regular season ends
We won’t know for 13 months what’s at stake on the final day of the 2026 regular season, but playoff races have gone down to Game 162 in each of the past two seasons. MLB implemented its current expanded postseason in 2022, featuring three wild-card teams from each league.
