Thursday called for the Los Angeles Dodgers to face the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day of the 2020 season, but that was ruled out when Major League Baseball announced games would be delayed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
MLB has since said it would adhere to a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that gatherings of 50 or more people be cancelled at least through May 10. But while 2020 Opening Day will not take place this week, MLB Network is looking to fill the void.
Among the five games that will be re-aired is the 2013 Opening Day matchup between the Dodgers and Giants. The afternoon is of course remembered for Clayton Kershaw breaking the scoreless tie with a solo home run off George Kontos in the eighth inning.
The Dodgers scored three more runs in the eighth, and Kershaw turned in a complete-game shutout. He scattered four hits and collected seven strikeouts in the third of what turned into eight consecutive Opening Day starts.
Kershaw joined Bob Lemon (1953) as the only pitchers in MLB history to toss a shutout and hit a home run on Opening Day. The homer still stands as the only of Kershaw’s career.
Also on Thursday, MLB has created an ‘#OpeningDayFromHome’ campaign to stream 30 games on their social media accounts. One of which being the MLB YouTube channel, which already features several classic games.
MLB has made all games from the 2018 and 2019 seasons available to stream for free on MLB.TV, and unlocked their Vault on YouTube.
On Sunday, the MLB Network documentary, “Only in Hollywood,” which focuses on the 1988 Dodgers winning the World Series, will re-air at 3:30 p.m. PT. That will be followed by “MLB’s 20 Greatest Games,” which includes Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
MLB Network schedule to fill 2020 Opening Day (all times PT)
10 a.m.: New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians (1996)
1 p.m.: Giants @ Dodgers (2013)
3 p.m.: Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks (2017)
6 p.m.: San Diego Padres @ Colorado Rockies (2005)
9 p.m.: New York Mets @ Chicago Cubs (1994)
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