List of Baltimore Orioles Opening Day starting pitchers


The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland. They play in the American League East division. The Orioles started playing in Baltimore in 1954, after moving from St. Louis, where they were known as the St. Louis Browns. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Orioles have used 33 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 60 seasons since moving to Baltimore. The 33 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 22 wins, 18 losses and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
The first Opening Day for the Orioles was played in Detroit against the Detroit Tigers on April 13, 1954. Don Larsen was the Orioles' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Orioles lost 3-0. Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina have made the most Opening Day starts for the Baltimore Orioles, with six apiece. Palmer has a record of five wins and one loss in his Opening Day starts, and Mussina has a record of three wins, two losses and one no decision. Dave McNally made five Opening Day starts for the Orioles, with a record of three wins and no losses. Other Oriole pitchers who have made multiple Opening Day starts are Steve Barber, Rodrigo López, and Jeremy Guthrie, with three apiece, and Milt Pappas, Dennis Martínez, Mike Flanagan, Mike Boddicker, and Rick Sutcliffe, with two apiece. Flanagan's two Opening Day starts occurred eight years apart, in 1978 and 1986.
Palmer has the most Opening Day wins for the Orioles, with five. McNally's record of three wins and no losses in Opening Day starts gave him a 1.000 winning percentage, the highest in Orioles history. Flanagan's record of no wins and two losses is the lowest winning percentage of any Orioles' Opening Day starting pitcher. Flanagan and Mussina are the only pitchers to have two losses for the Orioles in Opening Day starts.
The Orioles have played in two home ballparks. Memorial Stadium was their home park until 1991, and Camden Yards has been their home park since 1992. Orioles' Opening Day starting pitchers had a record of eight wins, eight losses and eight no decisions in 24 Opening Day starts in Memorial Stadium. They have a record of ten wins, four losses and two no decisions in 15 Opening Day starts at Camden Yards. This makes their aggregate record in Opening Day starts at home 18 wins, 12 losses and 10 no decisions. Their record in Opening Day starts on the road is four wins, six losses and seven no decisions, for an aggregate Opening Day record of 22 wins, 18 losses and 16 no decisions. The Orioles played in the World Series in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979 and 1983, winning in 1966, 1970 and 1983. Their Opening Day starting pitchers in those years were Steve Barber, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer and Dennis Martínez.

Key

SeasonEach year is linked to an article about that particular Orioles season.
WWin
LLoss
ND No decision by starting pitcher; Orioles won game
ND No decision by starting pitcher; Orioles lost game
Final
Score		Game score with Orioles runs listed first
LocationStadium in italics for home game
Pitcher Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Orioles
*Advanced to the post-season
**AL Champions
†World Series Champions

Pitchers

SeasonPitcherDecisionFinal
score		OpponentLocationRef
1954LDetroit TigersTiger Stadium
1955LWashington SenatorsGriffith Stadium
1956LBoston Red SoxFenway Park
1957ND Washington SenatorsGriffith Stadium
1958ND Washington SenatorsMemorial Stadium
1959LWashington SenatorsGriffith Stadium
1960ND Washington SenatorsMemorial Stadium
1961LLos Angeles AngelsMemorial Stadium
1962ND New York YankeesYankee Stadium
1963WWashington SenatorsDistrict of Columbia Stadium
1964 ND Chicago White SoxComiskey Park
1965 LChicago White SoxMemorial Stadium
1966† ND Boston Red SoxFenway Park
1967ND Minnesota TwinsMemorial Stadium
1968WOakland AthleticsMemorial Stadium
1969** ND Boston Red SoxMemorial Stadium
1970† WCleveland IndiansCleveland Stadium
1971** WWashington SenatorsMemorial Stadium
1972WNew York YankeesMemorial Stadium
1973* WMilwaukee BrewersMemorial Stadium
1974*WDetroit TigersMemorial Stadium
1975 WDetroit TigersTiger Stadium
1976 WBoston Red SoxMemorial Stadium
1977 LTexas RangersMemorial Stadium
1978LMilwaukee BrewersCounty Stadium
1979** WChicago White SoxMemorial Stadium
1980 WChicago White SoxComiskey Park
1981WKansas City RoyalsMemorial Stadium
1982ND Kansas City RoyalsMemorial Stadium
1983† LKansas City RoyalsMemorial Stadium
1984LChicago White SoxMemorial Stadium
1985ND Texas RangersMemorial Stadium
1986 LCleveland IndiansMemorial Stadium
1987ND Texas RangersMemorial Stadium
1988 LMilwaukee BrewersMemorial Stadium
1989ND Boston Red SoxMemorial Stadium
1990ND Kansas City RoyalsRoyals Stadium
1991LChicago White SoxMemorial Stadium
1992WCleveland IndiansCamden Yards
1993 LTexas RangersCamden Yards
1994WKansas City RoyalsCamden Yards
1995 ND Kansas City RoyalsKauffman Stadium
1996* WKansas City RoyalsCamden Yards
1997*WKansas City RoyalsCamden Yards
1998 LKansas City RoyalsCamden Yards
1999 WTampa Bay Devil RaysCamden Yards
2000 LCleveland IndiansCamden Yards
2001ND Boston Red SoxCamden Yards
2002WNew York YankeesCamden Yards
2003ND Cleveland IndiansCamden Yards
2004WBoston Red SoxCamden Yards
2005 WOakland AthleticsCamden Yards
2006 WTampa Bay Devil RaysCamden Yards
2007LMinnesota TwinsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
2008LTampa Bay RaysCamden Yards
2009 WNew York YankeesCamden Yards
2010ND Tampa Bay RaysTropicana Field
2011 WTampa Bay RaysTropicana Field
2012*WMinnesota TwinsCamden Yards
2013WTampa Bay RaysTropicana Field
2014*W2–1Boston Red SoxCamden Yards
2015 W6–2Tampa Bay RaysTropicana Field
2016* W3-2Minnesota TwinsCamden Yards
2017ND 3-2Toronto Blue JaysCamden Yards
2018ND 3-2Minnesota TwinsCamden Yards
2019L2-7New York YankeesYankee Stadium