Opening Day ... in June? It's happening

Plus: A Las Vegas baseball spectacular

Tuesday, June 09 View Online Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today's edition is brought to you by David Adler.   Today is Opening Day for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and we have everything you need to know.   This is the second season of the AUSL. The league is full of softball's biggest stars, and it has a whole new look. After a barnstorming-style inaugural year in 2025, the AUSL will now have a more traditional look in 2026 and beyond, with teams in six cities.   Here's a handy-dandy FAQ about the 2026 AUSL season:   What is the Athletes Unlimited Softball League?    The AUSL is a women’s softball league that launched in 2025, evolving from the existing Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball Championship Season. It's an opportunity for the world’s best softball players to compete professionally.   What are the teams?    The six teams in the AUSL for 2026 are the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts and Utah Talons.   What's on tap for Opening Day?    AUSL Opening Day features all six teams in action. The Blaze host the Cascade at Smith Family Stadium in Durham at 5 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network). The Spark host the Volts at Tom Heath Field in Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). The defending-champion Talons host the Bandits at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City at 9 p.m. ET (also on ESPN2). Who are the players to know?   Bandits infielder Erin Coffel was the AUSL’s MVP and Hitter of the Year in 2025, with a league-leading 1.435 OPS.   The Talons’ Georgina Corrick was the Pitcher of the Year after going 6-0 with a 2.24 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.   Blaze infielder Ana Gold was the Rookie of the Year, batting .373 with a .667 slugging percentage.   Talons shortstop Hannah Flippen was the Defensive Player of the Year.   Rookies to watch in 2026 include:  Blaze pitcher Karlyn Pickens, the No. 1 AUSL Draft pick out of Tennessee, who threw the fastest NCAA pitch on record at 79.4 mph and was a back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year. Volts pitcher NiJaree Canady, the No. 2 pick and reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year out of Texas Tech Spark lefty Maya Johnson, the first mid-major player drafted into the AUSL after a standout career for Belmont in the Missouri Valley Conference How long is the season?    The regular season is 25 games for each of the six teams, with more traditional two- or three-game series than last year's barnstorming-style schedule.   The 2026 regular season runs from today through July 20, and the postseason begins July 23.   Where can I find the full schedule?   Here is the link to the full 2026 AUSL schedule, which includes ticket and broadcast info. Every game will be televised or streamed in some capacity.   What about the rosters?   The 16-player rosters for each team are available at theausl.com.    There's a lot more to know about the AUSL, so be sure to check out Anthony Castrovince's full explainer here >> WELCOME BACK TO FABULOUS LAS VEGAS Las Vegas sure knows how to put on a show.   With the A's set to relocate to a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip for the 2028 season, the team is getting a taste of the city's glitz and glamor in a special six-game series in Vegas this week.   The games are being played at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the A's Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, about 13 miles west of where the team's new stadium will be.    And last night's series opener against the Brewers was an extravaganza worthy of Sin City.    The A's and Brewers combined for 11 home runs and 29 runs total in an over-the-top affair the Brew Crew ultimately won, 15-14, in 12 innings.   But what an introduction to Vegas. And there was a lot more than just the game.    To celebrate the occasion, Las Vegas has enlisted a star-studded cast of entertainers regularly showcased on the famed Strip for guest appearances throughout the week.   The Las Vegas pageantry was on full display in the opener of what's being dubbed the "Las Vegas Series." The pregame festivities included ceremonial first pitches from DJ Pauly D, of reality TV show "Jersey Shore" fame, and Nick Carter, lead singer of the Backstreet Boys.    Belting out the A’s starting lineup was iconic ring announcer Bruce Buffer, whose voice is typically reserved for the most high-profile UFC fights in Sin City. Legendary A's pitcher and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers -- who is also going on nearly three decades as a Las Vegas resident -- delivered a "Play Ball!" to kick off the ballgame.   It's the first time MLB regular-season games are being played in Las Vegas since 1996, when the A’s played their first six home games at Cashman Field in Las Vegas due to renovations that were taking place at Oakland Coliseum. But baseball in Las Vegas has a decades-long history, with Minor League teams as the main attraction. SKENES VS. OHTANI We've got a marquee showdown tonight in Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes vs. Shohei Ohtani. Reigning Cy Young winner vs. reigning MVP.    Sadly, it's not Ohtani's pitching day (that's tomorrow, in what should also be an electric matchup against flamethrower Jared Jones), but we'll settle for Skenes on the rubber vs. Ohtani in the batter's box.   Skenes takes the mound against Ohtani and the NL West-leading Dodgers at 6:40 p.m. ET (MLB.TV).    Entering his 14th start of the season, the Pirates ace is 6-5 with a 2.83 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 70 innings. But he hasn't looked quite like himself of late. Pittsburgh has lost each of Skenes' last four starts. Skenes' last victory was May 12 against the Rockies.    Ohtani, on the other hand, is just rounding into form at the plate (to say nothing of his dominant season on the mound). He's batting .302 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs and leads the National League with a .939 OPS.    Skenes has been strong against the Dodgers in his career, and against Ohtani. He's 3-1 in four starts against L.A. with a 2.70 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.  And he's held Ohtani to two hits in 11 at-bats (a .182 average) with six strikeouts. But Ohtani does have one home run off Skenes, taking him deep on a 100 mph fastball in their first head-to-head matchup in 2024.  GAMES OF THE NIGHT Besides Skenes vs. Ohtani, here are a couple of other games worth watching tonight.    Yankees at Guardians (6:40 p.m. ET, TBS / Amazon Prime Video / MLB.TV)     The Yankees emptied the tank to pull off an extra-inning win in yesterday's series opener between these two AL playoff contenders. Now they have ace Gerrit Cole on the mound looking to put it all together in his fourth start back from Tommy John surgery. It's Cole's second straight game against the Guardians, and they got him last time, hitting three homers off Cole to hand him the loss.   Phillies at Blue Jays (7:07 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)  Speaking of aces returning from injury … we've got two more in this matchup: Zack Wheeler vs. Dylan Cease. Wheeler has been on a roll for the Phillies since his return from thoracic outlet decompression surgery -- he's 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA and 48 strikeouts in eight starts. On the other side, this is Cease's first start off the injured list for Toronto after a left hamstring strain kept him out the last few weeks. SKENES GOES BACK TO LITTLE LEAGUE Even with today's start against the World Series champs looming, Paul Skenes wasn't too busy to surprise a bunch of local Little Leaguers and make their day.   Skenes was driving down Perry Highway in Wexford, Pa., yesterday evening when he saw the lights on at Vestal Field, home of the Ingomar Franklin Park Little League.   So the Cy Young winner decided to make an impromptu pit stop to watch the Little Leaguers practice.    That turned into two hours of Skenes playing catch with the kids, signing autographs and taking photos.   That's the type of thing those young players will remember forever.   "To the kids here in Pittsburgh, he's the biggest thing in baseball by far. He is baseball," said Ingomar Franklin Park Little League president Chris Greco, whose 10-year-old son Anthony was at the park and "flabbergasted" at meeting his idol.    Afterwards, some of the coaches offered Skenes a beer for his time. A tempting offer, but Skenes had to decline.    "Oh no, I can't," Skenes told them. "I'm pitching against the Dodgers tomorrow."   Read more about Skenes going back to Little League here >>  VOTE NOW FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME Phase 1 of All-Star voting is open until Thursday, June 25, at noon ET. Everything to know about the 2026 All-Star Ballot Vote now to help send your favorite players to this year's All-Star Game in Philadelphia. Fans can vote up to five times per day.   Fill out your 2026 All-Star Ballot here >> © 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Please review our Privacy Policy. You (geoffgould.gr8iphone@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com. Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. 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