On Opening Day, Teams Put Their Best Arms Forward

Gerrit Cole of the Yankees was 13-8 with a 3.50 E.R.A. in 2022. He finished in the top 10 in Cy Young Award voting for a fifth consecutive year.Credit...David J. Phillip/Associated PressOptimism abounds on opening day. Just about every team — sorry, Oakland and Washington — starts the year believing the playoffs are in its future, and every player is hoping to get off to a fast start.

But while Tuffy Rhodes, a journeyman outfielder, may have finished 1994’s opening day on pace for 486 home runs that season, the first day of each campaign is more often defined by the quality of the starting pitching matchups. Teams work diligently to get their aces lined up for that game, and it is the day…