Major League Baseball begins the 2026 season on Wednesday night with a one-game interleague showcase as the New York Yankees visit the San Francisco Giants. First pitch is set for 8: 05 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed on Netflix.
The Giants, who finished 81-81 last year, will send right-hander Logan Webb (15-11, 3.22 ERA last season) to the mound on Opening Day for the fifth consecutive season, The Giants have split the previous four games, including a 6-4 road win last year against the Cincinnati Reds, but Webb has yet to pick up a win in a season opener. Webb is 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.
The Yankees (94-68 last season) will counter with Max Fried (19-5, 2.86), who boasts a 4-1 record with a 2.68 ERA in eight career starts against the Giants. Over 50.1 innings, he has allowed 15 earned runs and recorded 45 strikeouts against them.
The season-opening showdown also will mark the MLB managerial debut of Tony Vitello for the Giants. Vitello will become the first manager in MLB history to lead a team with no previous professional coaching or playing experience. His previous stop was as head coach for the University of Tennessee. Vitello recently told the media that he solicited advice from Warriors coach Steve Kerr and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan in preparation for the task at hand.
“I don’t know what it is, but there’s some sort of synergy where one feeds off the other, and it just creates a vibe, and we certainly want to do our part with that,” Vitello said.
Yankees star Aaron Judge, who has Bay Area roots, has recorded at least one hit in all nine of his Opening Day appearances. One of those hits was a homer off Webb to help the Yankees win their 2023 season opener, 5-0. New York is a -125 favorite (risk $125 to win $100), while San Francisco is priced at +105 in the latest MLB odds for Yankees vs. Giants. The over/under for total runs scored is 7.
In addition to this MLB matchup, we’ll take a look at a key NBA matchup and a strong SportsLine expert pick from an NIT quarterfinal showdown. Here are the games to watch for Wednesday, March 25. All times Eastern.
MLB best bets, where to watch
Yankees at Giants
Time: 8:05 p.m. | Location: San Francisco | TV: Netflix | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Expert: Yankees -125 (Angelo Magliocca)
SportsLine top MLB expert Angelo Magliocca, who is 4-1 (+280) on his last five New York picks, promised his followers a play for the 2026 MLB season opener and he’s backing the Yankees as a slight favorite. Magliocca notes both starting pitchers struggled a bit in spring training, but that factor should be mostly discarded when analyzing the games that count. He sees the starting pitchers’ duel as about even but gives New York the edge based on its bullpen depth and a lineup that features more firepower.
NBA best bets, where to watch
Rockets at Timberwolves
Time: 9:30 p.m. | Location: Minneapolis TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Timberwolves +110 ML
The SportsLine Projection Model offers a slight lean on the Over 223 points, but its strongest play lies in taking the Timberwolves to win outright with a slight plus-money overlay in a battle of clubs jousting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. The value lies in the model’s simulation results suggesting Minnesota will prevail at least 56% of the time, a stark contrast from the implied sportsbook odds of around 48%. The model’s 10,000-game simulation forecasts a score of 114-111 in favor of the Timberwolves, a result that also slightly clips the Over on the posted total.
NIT best bets, where to watch
Nevada at Auburn
Time: 9 p.m. | Location: Auburn | TV: ESPN2 | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Expert: Nevada +9.5 (Mike Tierney)
SportsLine college basketball analyst Mike Tierney, who is 4-1 in his past five March selections (+298), is backing the underdog Wolf Pack to cover against a talented but erratic Auburn club at home. Tierney points out the Tigers have yet to cover two hefty point spreads in each of their first two NIT matchups, and he believes they are still getting too much respect in the betting market against a late-surging Nevada club that has rolled to two double-digit NIT victories. He notes Auburn has been hampered by the loss of forward KeShawn Murphy, who opted out of the tourney, and also notes a lackluster home environment has likely contributed to the club’s pedestrian outings.
