Kansas City Royals @ Atlanta Braves
Braves host the Royals in the season opener
Kansas City Royals vs. Atlanta Braves
Atlanta; Friday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Cole Ragans (0-0); Braves: Chris Sale (0-0)
Braves -143, Royals +121; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves start the season at home against the Kansas City Royals.
Atlanta went 76-86 overall and 39-42 at home a season ago. The Braves averaged 8.3 hits per game last season and totaled 190 home runs.
Kansas City went 82-80 overall and 39-42 on the road a season ago. The Royals batted .247 as a team in the 2025 season with a .706 OPS.
INJURIES: Braves: AJ Smith-Shawver: 15-Day IL (elbow), Ha-Seong Kim: 10-Day IL (finger), Spencer Strider: 15-Day IL (oblique), Danny Young: 15-Day IL (elbow), Daysbel Hernandez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Sean Murphy: 10-Day IL (hip), Hurston Waldrep: 15-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee)
Royals: Stephen Kolek: 15-Day IL (oblique), James McArthur: 15-Day IL (elbow), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (calf), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Regular Season Series
Game Information
2026 American League Central Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | - | W1 |
| Cleveland | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | - | W1 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.5 | - |
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | L1 |
| Chicago | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | L1 |
2026 National League East Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | - | W1 |
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | - | W1 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | - | W1 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.5 | - |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.5 | - |
MLB News