Cincinnati Reds will play Opening Day earlier than ever in 2025

The Cincinnati Reds will play the San Francisco Giants on March 27, 2025, at Great American Ball Park on Opening Day in Cincinnati.

Major League Baseball revealed the 2025 schedule on Thursday. For the Reds, it will be the first Opening Day against the Giants since 1999.

The March 27 date will be the earliest the Reds have ever played their first game. They started on March 28 this season, and that was the earliest date in franchise history.

The Reds open with a six-game homestand: three games against the Giants and then three against the Texas Rangers.

The big-league season starts with the Tokyo Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers play the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

It will be the second straight season that has started with an international series. The Dodgers and Padres played in Seoul, South Korea, to open the 2024 season.

All 30 teams will play on the traditional opening day, which will be March 27.

There is one significant change to the schedule coming in 2024. According to a MLB press release, “Prime Interleague rivals will increase their number of matchups from four to six while playing a pair of three-game series rather than a pair of two-game series. As a result, each of the 30 Clubs will play two fewer games against non-division league opponents.”