The 2026 MLB season began Wednesday when the New York Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, but there are 12 more games on Thursday’s slate. Here are three pitching matchups to watch on Thursday’s slate. For more, check out the Fantasy Sports HQ Pitcher Projection Tool.
Zac Gallen Faces Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers
The Arizona Diamondbacks will go with Zac Gallen as their Opening Day starter since Merrill Kelly (back) won’t be ready, and Gallen will have the daunting task of trying to go through the Dodgers’ stacked lineup. Gallen didn’t have his best season in 2025, finishing with a 4.83 ERA and 175:66 K:BB over 192 innings, but there’s a chance those results were a one-off since he was coming off three straight seasons with an ERA below 3.70 between 2022 and 2024.
Gallen will go against Yamamoto, who’s one of the top NL Cy Young contenders in 2026 and was named the MVP in the 2025 World Series. Yamamoto had an outstanding season in 2025, posting a 2.49 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP across 30 starts and 173.2 innings. On paper, the Dodgers have the edge in the pitching matchup, and a strong showing from Yamamoto might be enough to lift Los Angeles to a win in their home opener.
Tarik Skubal Takes on Nick Pivetta in Tigers vs. Padres
The winner of the 2025 AL Cy Young will open the season on the mound for the Detroit Tigers, and while it’s uncertain if he’ll finish the season with the team, that’s a topic for another day. Skubal was stellar in the 2025 season, posting a 2.21 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 2.45 FIP across 31 starts en route to a second consecutive Cy Young win. However, he’ll have a tough assignment in the opener against a Padres team that should be among the most potent lineups in the National League.
The Padres will have Pivetta on the mound, and the veteran righty will look to build off the best season of his career. The 33-year-old righty closed the 2025 regular season with a 2.87 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 190:50 K:BB across 181.2 frames, so this is going to be a big matchup between two hurlers coming off career-best years in 2025. Considering Petco Park is a pitchers’ park, this could be a low-scoring affair where pitching decides the outcome of the game.
Paul Skenes vs. Freddy Peralta Highlights Pirates vs. Mets
Arguably the best pitching matchup on Thursday’s slate, this contest between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Mets will feature two of the best pitchers in the NL in 2025. Skenes won the NL Cy Young after posting a 1.97 ERA and 0.95 WHIP alongside an impressive 216:42 K:BB over 187.2 innings in 2025, and he should be one of the best pitchers in baseball again in 2026, even if the Pirates are bound to struggle again in 2026.
He’ll face Peralta, who will be making his Mets debut after being acquired from the Brewers in the offseason. Peralta posted a career-best 2.70 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 33 starts last season, and while Skenes is the better pitcher, Peralta looks like the favorite to get the win since the Mets have a far deeper lineup than the Pirates. Peralta had an ERA between 3.58 and 3.86 in the previous three seasons between 2022 and 2024, so it remains to be seen if the 2025 numbers were just a fluke.
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