Orioles Opening Day 2024: How To Watch; World Series Odds

BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Orioles are finally back in action on Thursday, March 28, with an Opening Day game against the Los Angeles Angels.

All 30 MLB teams will play on Opening Day for the second straight year, though the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres technically kicked off the regular season with a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea, last week. Each team walked away with one win.

Here’s what you need to know about the Orioles' first game.

How To Watch

The first pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. on Thursday, with Corbin Burnes expected to take the mound for the O's against Patrick Sandoval, according to MLB.com.

The Orioles traded for Burnes, who's projected to be the team's ace, this offseason. He hopes to pick up the slack for injured starting pitchers Kyle Bradish and John Means, who will both miss a significant chunk of the year.

Opening Day will air live on MASN. Out-of-market games will also air on MLB.TV.

For those who still want to catch the game live, tickets are going for as low as $92 up to upward of $1,300, according to TickPick.

ESPN projects the Orioles to finish with an 87-75 record, giving Baltimore a 60% chance to make the playoffs.

Orioles Sold To Baltimore Billionaire

The Orioles were just sold to David Rubenstein, the Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder and a Baltimore native. Rubenstein reached an agreement to buy the Orioles for $1.725 billion earlier this year. That sale was approved by the other MLB owners on Wednesday.

The Orioles' previous owner, Peter Angelos, died last week at age 94. The sale was in place before Angelos' death. His declining health and legal battles between his heirs left the team in limbo while they scrambled to extend the stadium lease expiring at the end of 2023.

The team and the state, which owns Oriole Park at Camden Yards, agreed to a lease extension to keep the birds in Baltimore for at least 15 years. The lease could last up to 30 years with options to extend further if the Orioles and the state agree on plans to develop the surrounding stadium parking lots into an entertainment district.

High Hopes For Reigning Division Champs

Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson won Rookie of the Year in 2023. He's looking to build off last year's strong performance.

The O's also have baseball's top prospect in Jackson Holliday. He will start the season in the minor leagues, but the 20-year-old infielder could make his MLB debut this summer.

Starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is back for his second season. His rookie campaign started off rocky, and he was sent to the minors to work out the kinks. He returned for the second half and was one of baseball's best pitchers for the rest of the year.

Catcher Adley Rutschman has been the team's leader since 2022, when his debut led the O's to their first winning record since 2016.

The Orioles went 101-61 last year and won their American League East Division, sending them to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The O's were quickly bounced in the American League Division Series when the Texas Rangers swept them in three games.

Baltimore's young core returns this spring, determined to repeat their success and avenge last year's quick postseason exit.

World Series Odds

Oddsmakers are bullish about the Orioles' chances to win the World Series this year, giving them 8 percent odds to win it. That's tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the fifth-best World Series odds.

The Dodgers and Atlanta Braves enter the 2024 season with the best chance to win the World Series, according to the odds-aggregating website Oddschecker.com.

Oddsmakers gave the Dodgers about a 22 percent chance to win it all this year, and the Braves a 15 percent chance.

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees rounded out the top four at roughly 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

2024 Storylines

Among the other top storylines for this year: What will happen with new Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, who found himself embroiled in a gambling scandal last week when his interpreter wired at least $4.5 million from the star’s bank account to a bookmaker that is under federal investigation.

Meanwhile, the A’s — in the midst of moving to Las Vegas —face an uncertain future about where they’ll play.

The Athletics’ community benefits deal with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority was unanimously approved last week. But they’ll still need three more agreements before the team can begin building a $1.5 billion planned stadium. The next planned stadium authority meeting is expected May 16.

The year will feature some big names vying for MVP, including Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Julio Rodriguez, Corey Seager and Yordan Alvarez in the American League. Oddsmakers give Soto and Judge the best odds at 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively, with the others coming in at 9 percent, 7.5 percent and 7.5 percent.

In the National League, oddsmakers give Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mookie Betts the best chance to win the MVP award at 16 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Freddie Freeman have the next highest odds at 9.5 percent, 9 percent and 7.5 percent.