Opening Day 2026--Relievers

Not counting the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants Netflix game, Opening Day for the majority of teams is something of a sacred holiday. You cannot take much from one game. Yes, Paul Skenes (RHP, PIT) got clobbered by the New York Mets, but that doesn't mean much as a data point, especially if you did not know about the adventures of Oneil Cruz (OF, PIT) out in center field that first inning.

But one thing we can examine right away is how a manager handled the scenario with his bullpen. Some of these games were blowouts, and some were unusual enough that there is not much of a takeaway. But some games can give us some insight. This column just cherry picks a few.

Let's start with the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 win over the Minnesota...

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