The New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves will need to wait an extra day to start the 2024 MLB season.
Rain in Thursday's forecast caused both the Mets (who are hosting the Brewers) and the Phillies (who are hosting the Braves) to postpone their Opening Day games from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon.
The Mets will host the Brewers at 1:40 p.m. ET on Friday. The Phillies and Braves will get going at 3:05 p.m. ET. MLB's other 26 teams are still set to be in action Thursday with what's now a 13-game Opening Day schedule.
Rain is in the forecast in both New York and Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, but it looks as though Mother Nature won't interfere on Friday. With plenty of on-field celebration and excitement scheduled for the MLB openers, both teams decided to announce the postponements roughly 24 hours before first pitch.
Mets vs. Brewers was scheduled to be the first game of MLB's Opening Day. Friday's game will mark the first for the Mets under new president David Stearns. Stearns is hoping for a big turnaround from a New York team that underachieved last season.
Phillies vs. Braves, meanwhile, is a rematch of last year's memorable NLDS, which the Phillies took 3-1 en route to eliminating Atlanta for the second consecutive postseason. However, the Braves went 8-5 against the Phillies in the regular season in 2023, including an NL East-clinching win at Citizens Bank Park on Sept. 13 for their seventh straight division title.
Mets vs. Brewers
Freddy Peralta will start MLB Opening Day for the Brewers. Last season, he went 12-10 with a 3.86 ERA. He also went 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA and 12 strikeouts over two starts against the Mets. It was just over one year ago that Peralta tossed six shutout innings against the Mets, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.
Jose Quintana will start against the Brewers on Friday. He has not started a game in over a year and sat out all of last season with an injury. Quintana went 9-5 with a 2.90 ERA over 21 games against the Brewers.
Braves vs. Phillies
Fans of MLB pitching will be forced to wait until Friday for the premier matchup between Atlanta's Spencer Strider and Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler.
Strider went 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA last season. Additionally, he went 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA and 38 strikeouts across four starts against the Phillies last season. This bumps his career marks to 8-0 with a 1.90 ERA over eight career starts against the Phillies. However, he has struggled in the playoffs against them, going 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA over three starts.
Wheeler went 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA last season. He also went 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA and 21 strikeouts over three starts, bringing his total to 12-7 with a 3.18 ERA over 27 games. Wheeler will have a tough task to start the season, facing one of the best lineups in the league.
Follow Us
Subscribe