Twins will start 2026 season with earliest Opening Day; home opener is April 3

The Twins will have the earliest Opening Day in franchise history in 2026 when they start the season March 26 at Baltimore.

The home opener will be Friday, April 3, against Tampa Bay at Target Field. There is no off day after the home opener.

Major League Baseball teams released their 162-game 2026 schedules on Tuesday.

The Twins’ regular season next year will end Sept. 27 with a home game against Texas.

The season will be the fourth in which MLB teams play every other team at least once. The Twins will play National League teams Cincinnati, Miami, Milwaukee, St. Louis, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado, Philadelphia and Atlanta at Target Field.

The series with the Phillies is scheduled Aug. 14-16. On Sunday, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the series would include the “Field of Dreams” game in Dyersville, Iowa, but no official confirmation was made Tuesday. Thursday, Aug. 13, is a likely date for the game.

The Twins and Brewers face each other May 15-17 in Minneapolis and Aug. 7-9 in Milwaukee.

There are two nine-game homestands on the schedule (May 12-20 and Aug. 10-20), with the longest road trip 10 games from May 22-31.

The Twins have a rare Wednesday off, on June 17 in Texas, because of a FIFA World Cup match that day at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Pablo López allowed three runs and six hits, including a solo home run to Toledo’s Gage Workman, on Tuesday night in his third rehab assignment start for Class AAA St. Paul. López, who threw 68 pitches and struck out five, allowed a runner to reach base in each of his four innings. He gave up an RBI triple to former Twins prospect Akil Baddoo.

The Saints allowed a go-ahead unearned run in the eighth inning but rallied when Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the ninth to capture a 5-4 victory at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Travis Adams recorded a strikeout and a flyout to preserve the win.

López, who is returning from a strained muscle in his right shoulder, was arguably outpitched by a former teammate: Randy Dobnak. Dobnak was dealt to Detroit along with Chris Paddack three days before the trade deadline last month. Dobnak also allowed three runs, one of them unearned, in a five-inning start that included eight strikeouts. One of those whiffs was against Walker Jenkins, the Twins’ top-rated prospect, who played center field and was 0-for-4 in his Class AAA debut.

March 26, 28-29 at Baltimore

March 30, April 1-2 at Kansas City

April 3-5 Tampa Bay

April 6-9 Detroit

April 10-12 at Toronto

April 17-19 Cincinnati

April 21-23 at New York Mets

April 24-26 at Tampa Bay

April 27-29 Seattle

April 30, May 1-3 Toronto

May 8-10 at Cleveland

May 12-14 Miami

May 15-17 Milwaukee

May 18-20 Houston

May 22-24 at Boston

May 29-31 at Pittsburgh

June 1-3 Chicago White Sox

June 4-7 Kansas City

June 9-11 at Detroit

June 12-14 St. Louis

June 19-21 at Arizona

June 22-24 Los Angeles Dodgers

June 26-28 Colorado

June 29-30, July 1 at Houston

July 3-5 at New York Yankees

July 10-12 Los Angeles Angels

July 14 MLB All-Star Game, Philadelphia

July 17-19 at Chicago Cubs

July 20-23 at Cleveland

July 24-26 Athletics

July 31, Aug. 1-2 at Seattle

Aug. 4-6 at Kansas City

Aug. 7-9 at Milwaukee

Aug. 10-12 Baltimore

Aug. 14-16 Philadelphia*

Aug. 21-23 at San Diego

Aug. 24-26 at Athletics (in Sacramento)

Aug. 28-30 Chicago White Sox

Aug. 31, Sept. 1-2 Detroit

Sept. 4-6 at Chicago White Sox

Sept. 11-13 Cleveland

Sept. 14-16 New York Yankees

Sept. 17-20 at Los Angeles Angels

Sept. 21-23 at San Francisco

Sept. 25-27 Texas