Major League Baseball on Wednesday announced start times for its entire 2026 game schedule, including the regular season, Spring Training and the third edition of Spring Breakout.
The 2026 Spring Training schedule will officially begin on Friday, February 20 in Arizona and Florida, before a full day of Cactus League and Grapefruit League games on Saturday, February 21. Friday’s matchup includes four Cactus League matchups (AZ vs. COL; SD vs. SEA; KC vs. TEX; CWS vs. CHC), one Grapefruit League game (NYY vs. BAL), and two exhibition matchups (Northeastern University vs. BOS; University of Minnesota vs. MIN).
The third edition of Spring Breakout will be held from Thursday, March 19 to Sunday, March 22, featuring baseball’s future stars as clubs gather their top prospects to face off in exhibition games. The Spring Breakout will begin with six games on March 19, highlighting a matchup between MLB Pipeline’s top 10 minor league systems, when the Mets’ prospects (ranked 7) host the Rays’ prospects (ranked 10) in Port St. Lucie, Florida, at 7:10 pm (ET).
The Spring Training schedule also includes a total of 30 exhibition games on Tuesday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 4, in which Major League teams will face national teams from the World Baseball Classic, prior to the tournament’s scheduled start in North America on Friday, March 6 in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Houston, Texas; and Miami, Florida. Exhibition games include a two-game series between the Detroit Tigers and the Dominican Republic national team at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo, at 6:05 pm (ET)/7:05 pm (AST) on Tuesday and at 2:05 pm (ET)/3:05 pm (AST) on Wednesday. It will be the first time that the Dominican team receives a Major League team in its country for exhibition games. Additionally, the games will be played in memory of the victims of the April 8, 2025 tragedy at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, and MLB together with UEPA will make a donation to the Dominican Red Cross as part of the event.
The San Francisco Giants will host the New York Yankees in the Opening Game on Wednesday night, March 25, at 8:05 pm (ET)/5:05 pm (PT), exclusively on Netflix. The traditional Opening Day will be Thursday, March 26 with 11 matchups, including two broadcast on NBC and Peacock: the Pittsburgh Pirates will visit the New York Mets at 1:15 pm (ET), and the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks at 8:30 pm (ET)/5:30 pm (PT). MLB Network will have complete Opening Day coverage on Thursday, March 26, including the returns of MLB Central and the award-winning MLB Tonight, with live broadcasts of games in progress, recaps and analysis.
MLB’s Mexico City Series will return in 2026 with two games between the San Diego Padres and the D-backs, on Saturday, April 25 at 4:05 pm (MT)/3:05 pm (PT) and Sunday, April 26 at 2:05 pm (MT)/1:05 pm (PT). The matches at the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, part of the MLB WORLD TOUR, will mark MLB’s third regular season visit to the Mexican capital (after 2023 and 2024).
The “Rivalry Weekend” presented by Booking.com will return from May 15 to 17, with 11 series between major Interleague rivals and four regional matchups. In 2026, each of the 30 clubs will host the same Interleague rivals they faced at home in 2024. The event will begin with series between the Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies in Pittsburgh, and the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays visiting the Tigers, both games beginning at 6:40 pm (ET).
The 96th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be held on Tuesday, July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, broadcast on FOX, as part of the celebration of the semi-quincentennial of the independence of the United States. This All-Star Game in Philadelphia will follow the example of 1976, when Veterans Stadium hosted the bicentennial. It will be the first All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, the fifth in the city of Philadelphia and the fourth hosted by the Phillies. All-Star Week will include coverage of the MLB Draft on Saturday, July 11 on NBC, Peacock and MLB Network; the Future Stars Game on Sunday the 12th at noon (ET) on NBC and Peacock; and the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday the 13th on Netflix.
In August, MLB will host two of its signature regular-season events: returning to Dyersville, Iowa, for the third annual “MLB on the Field of Dreams,” and continuing the annual tradition in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with the “MLB Little League Classic presented by New York Life.” The Field of Dreams game, which follows those held in 2021 and 2022, will feature the Minnesota Twins and Phillies on Thursday, August 13 at 7:30 pm (ET)/6:30 pm (CT) on Netflix. The Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves will participate in the Little League Classic on Sunday, August 23 at 7:10 pm (ET)/6:10 pm (CT) on ESPN.
The last day of the 2026 regular season will be Sunday, September 27, with nine divisional matchups and all 15 games beginning between 3:00 and 3:20 pm (ET).
Other highlights from the 2026 calendar include:
