Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Clay Holmes debut for new teams, Paul Skenes makes his first opening-day start at age 22 and Sandy Alcántara returns from Tommy John surgery.

A week after the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers swept an opening two-game series over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, 26 other teams get underway Thursday on opening day in the U.S. and Canada.

One day later the Rays and Rockies become the final clubs to take the field, given extra time while Tampa Bay moved into the New York Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field, its temporary home this season after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field’s roof.

With Oakland stripped from its name, the cityless Athletics start the first of at least three years at a makeshift minor league home in Sacramento when they host the Cubs on Monday. But first, the A’s start at Seattle with Luis Severino on the mound after he agreed to a team-record $67 million, three-year contract.

Across the majors, Miami’s Clayton McCullough makes his major league managing debut and Cincinnati’s Terry Francona and Will Venable of the Chicago White Sox start tenures with new teams. Starting pitchers feature a Zack, Zach and Zac.

Dodgers celebrate

LOS ANGELES >> It’s a new season but the Los Angeles Dodgers are still celebrating their 2024 World Series championship.

Rapper Ice Cube rolled up to their dugout in a vintage blue convertible with the Commissioner’s Trophy in the front passenger seat. Magic Johnson carried the prize to home plate as fans roared Thursday before the Dodgers’ home opener against the Detroit Tigers.

Players and staff will receive their World Series rings prior to Friday’s game.

Los Angeles began the season in Tokyo earlier this month with a pair of wins over the Chicago Cubs.

Thursday was all about honoring the Dodgers’ victory over the New York Yankees for the eighth World Series championship in franchise history and second since the pandemic-delayed 2020 season.

Kirk Gibson came out to throw the first pitch to World Series MVP Freddie Freeman. A hobbled Gibson belted a pinch-hit, walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against Oakland to earn a place in Dodgers lore.

Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 against the Yankees echoed Gibson’s heroics. Freeman came on the field with his wife, three sons, father and stepmother as fans chanted “Freddie! Freddie!”

Briefly

Orioles >> Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run home run off Toronto’s José Berríos in the third inning of Thursday’s game at Toronto, extending his major league record by homering for a sixth straight opening day. Playing a season-opening game in his home country of Canada for the first time, O’Neill connected on a two-out, 2-1 sinker, driving in Colton Cowser and Adley Rutschman and putting Baltimore up 4-0.

Mets >> With a chance to make a late splash in his New York Mets debut, Juan Soto came up empty.After signing the biggest contract in baseball history last offseason, the slugger came to bat with two runners aboard and the Mets down by two in the ninth inning Thursday. But instead of delivering the huge hit New York was looking for, he whiffed on a full-count slider from hard-throwing closer Josh Hader that was way outside the strike zone to send the Mets to a second straight opening day loss in Houston’s 3-1 victory.

Yankees >> Austin Wells drove Freddy Peralta’s fastball into the first row of Yankee Stadium’s right-field short porch and landed in the history books: the first catcher in a century and a half of Major League Baseball to hit a leadoff home run on opening day.

Red Sox >> Wilyer Abreu dedicated this two-homer game to his newborn twin boys. Abreu went deep twice in Boston’s season-opening 5-2 win at Texas, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth inning Thursday. It came nearly eight months after the 25-year-old outfielder’s only multihomer game — in the same stadium, the day after his grandmother died.

RED SOX >> Liam Hendriks was placed on the 15-day injured list before Boston’s season opener Thursday at Texas because of elbow inflammation, again delaying the right-handed reliever’s debut with the Red Sox after being on their roster all of last season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Guardians >> Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee was scratched from his opening day start due to the stomach flu.

White Sox >> The Chicago White Sox placed infielders Josh Rojas and Bryan Ramos and outfielder Mike Tauchman on the 10-day injured list on opening day on Thursday. Chicago also added right-hander Mike Clevinger, outfielder Travis Jankowski and infielder Nick Maton to its active roster.