nationals vs cubs takes center stage on Opening Day today, Thursday, March 26, 2026, with first pitch set for 2: 20 p. m. ET at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The matchup marks the Cubs’ second season opener against Washington, a rare pairing in the team’s long Opening Day history. The immediate focus is on the start of the 2026 campaign, with Matthew Boyd lined up for Chicago and Cade Cavalli set to take the ball for Washington.
What to know right now about Nationals Vs Cubs
The Cubs have opened a season against 28 different teams since 1876, the first year of the National League. This will be only the second time they have opened against the Nationals; the first came on April 5, 2012, when the Cubs lost at home, 2-1.
There is also a historical thread tied to the Nationals’ franchise past. When the Nationals were the Montreal Expos, the Cubs went 1-2 against them in season openers, winning in 1973 and losing in 1983 and 2001, with all three games played at Wrigley Field.
For the Cubs, the calendar itself has been a storyline. In games played in March, they are 10-13, with their first March game coming in 1998. They played two March games in 2000, then one each in 2003, 2008, and 2014, before a run that began in 2018 when they played 17 March games: three in 2018, three in 2019, one in 2023, three in 2024, and seven last year.
Pitching matchup: Boyd for Chicago, Cavalli for Washington
Chicago’s Opening Day starter is Matthew Boyd, whose 2025 season included an NL All-Star selection, though he “ran out of gas” late in the year. After being hit hard in Game 1 of the division series against the Brewers, Boyd recovered to deliver an outstanding outing in Game 4.
Against Washington last year, Boyd made two starts, allowing 11 hits, one walk, and four runs in 14. 2 innings for a 2. 45 ERA. At Wrigley Field, his 2025 home performance stood out: a 2. 51 ERA and 0. 903 WHIP across 15 starts, with the Cubs going 13-2 in those games. Thursday will be Boyd’s third Opening Day start; he previously started openers in 2020 and 2021 with the Tigers.
For Washington, Cade Cavalli gets the Opening Day assignment. Cavalli was a first-round pick in 2020, selected 22nd overall. He was a Top 100 prospect for three consecutive years from 2021 through 2023, then missed the entire 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. He made 10 starts last year, posting a 4. 25 ERA and 1. 479 WHIP, and he has never faced the Cubs or anyone on the Cubs’ active roster.
March baseball at Wrigley: the small sample that still matters
The Cubs have played only two previous games at Wrigley Field in March, and both were against the Brewers. On March 31, 2008, Kosuke Fukudome hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning, but the Cubs lost 4-3 in 10 innings. On March 30, 2023, the Cubs won 4-0 as Marcus Stroman and three relievers combined to allow four hits, walk five, and strike out 12.
Those snapshots are limited, but they underscore how unusual early-season Wrigley games can be—and why today’s nationals vs cubs opener carries an extra layer of attention beyond the normal Opening Day buzz.
What’s next after first pitch
Once the 2: 20 p. m. ET first pitch is in, the immediate storyline will turn to whether Boyd can carry his 2025 Wrigley effectiveness into another Opening Day start, and how Cavalli handles his first career look at Chicago’s lineup. After the final out, the focus will shift to how both clubs line up coming out of Game 1, with the opener setting the tone for what follows in the first series of the season.
