The 2025 MLB season will kick off with an international flair as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani face the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18. Meanwhile, the Athletics will begin their home season in Sacramento, playing against the Cubs on March 31.
For the first time, all 30 teams will play on March 27, marking the earliest opening day not tied to international games, Major League Baseball announced on Thursday. Previous early starts occurred on March 28 in 2019 and this season.
Teams will now face their prime interleague rivals six times per season, up from four, enhancing matchups such as the New York Yankees versus Mets, Dodgers versus Los Angeles Angels, Cubs versus Chicago White Sox, and Athletics versus San Francisco Giants. A “Rivalry Weekend” is scheduled for May 16-18, featuring these interleague rivalries along with Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Colorado vs. Arizona, Detroit vs. Toronto, and Houston vs. Texas.
Continuing with a balanced schedule for the third year, each team will play 13 games against division rivals and six or seven games against other teams in their league, totaling 62 games. The remaining 48 games will be interleague matchups, with each team facing the 14 other teams in the opposite league in a three-game series. Teams will play the same interleague opponents at home as they did in 2023.
The American League used a balanced schedule from 1977-2000, and the National League from 1993-2000.
The Dodgers and Cubs will face off at the Tokyo Dome on March 18-19, marking the 25th anniversary of MLB’s first regular-season games in Japan, played by the Mets and Cubs. Previous Tokyo openers included the Yankees vs. Tampa Bay (2004), Boston vs. Oakland (2008), and Seattle vs. Oakland (2012 and 2019). The Dodgers and Padres began the 2024 season in Seoul, South Korea.
Although MLB and the players’ association had planned regular-season games in Paris for June, the idea was dropped due to a lack of sponsorship. The collective bargaining agreement had also envisioned games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in September 2025, but these were not included.
After decades at the Coliseum in Oakland, the Athletics will play their 2025-27 seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. This ballpark, with approximately 10,500 fixed seats, also hosts the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A River Dogs. The A’s will open their season with a four-game series in Seattle before hosting the Cubs. They will face the Giants at San Francisco’s Oracle Park from May 16-18 and will host them from July 4-6. The Athletics began in Philadelphia from 1901-54, then moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons. They plan to relocate to a new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028.
Sacramento’s hot summer temperatures often exceed 100 degrees, leading to the installation of artificial turf to accommodate both the A’s and the River Dogs.
Other games on March 27 include Cubs at Arizona, Angels at the White Sox, San Francisco at Cincinnati, Mets at Houston, Cleveland at Kansas City, Detroit at the Dodgers, Pittsburgh at Miami, Milwaukee at the Yankees, Minnesota at St. Louis, Atlanta at San Diego, Colorado at Tampa Bay, Boston at Texas, Baltimore at Toronto, and Philadelphia at Washington. Game times have not yet been announced.
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The All-Star Game will take place at Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 15, with the regular season concluding on September 28.
