The 2012 Major League Baseball season will start Wednesday in Tokyo, Japan, between the Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners.
The 7 p.m. local time start time will be a bright and early 6 a.m. EDT Wednesday start for fans on the east coast.
Oakland’s Brandon McCarthy will start things off on the mound for the A’s that went 74-88 last season, finishing 22 games out of first. McCarthy went 9-9 last season with a 3.32 ERA in 25 starts.
McCarthy’s first pitch will likely be thrown to new Mariner leadoff hitter Chone Figgins. Former leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki will hit third for Seattle, which finished last in the AL West last season with a 67-95 record.
The Mariners will start ace Felix Hernandez opposite McCarthy on the mound. The former Cy Young winner went 14-14 with a 3.37 ERA last season and will be making his fifth opening day start.
