It’s rare for the Giants to start a season at home. It’s even more rare for them to start and finish a season in San Francisco.
This millennium, there have only been two instances (2001, 2005) when the Giants have both started and ended a season in The City. The Giants can add this season to the list. Given who’s coming to town, they’ll want to bring out the fine china.
They’ll begin their year at Oracle Park by hosting three-time MVP Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees. They’ll end it against four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani and the back-to-back defending champion – and arch rival – Los Angeles Dodgers. Talk about box office draws.
Those two series will have Oracle Park filled to the brim, but they’re far from the only series worth circling on the calendar. Here’s a look at six series to watch this season (with the Giants’ full schedule at the bottom of the story):
March 25-28 vs. New York Yankees
The Giants and Yankees will share the national spotlight on March 25 as the only game of the day to open up the 2026 season. While the rest of the league begins its season on March 26, San Francisco and New York will face off the night before in a prime-time game exclusively broadcast on Netflix at 5 p.m. PT.
So much for a soft landing for rookie manager Tony Vitello.
Logan Webb, barring the unforeseen, will start his fifth consecutive Opening Day for the Giants. Since the team moved to San Francisco, only Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (1964-69) has started more Opening Days in a row.
Webb and San Francisco’s pitching staff will have to figure out how to slow down Linden’s Judge, the former Giants fan turned current Giants tormentor.
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run off San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb (62) during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 1, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
In his first three games at Oracle Park in 2024, Judge went 6-for-10, with three homers, six RBIs, three walks and two steals. Over nine career games against the Giants, Judge is 15-for-31, with five home runs, 10 RBIs and seven walks. His 1.590 OPS against San Francisco is also his highest against any opponent.
April 21-23 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani. Mookie Betts. Freddie Freeman. Kyle Tucker. Will Smith. Max Muncy. Teoscar Hernández. That’s seven All-Stars, and three of those are future Hall of Famers, the Giants’ pitching staff will have to navigate.
The Dodgers made the move of the offseason by signing Tucker, a four-time All-Star, to a four-year, $260 million deal. Even when accounting for deferrals, Tucker’s average annual salary of $57.1 million is the highest in league history, usurping Juan Soto’s $51 million.
There’s also Los Angeles’ addition of three-time All-Star closer Edwin Díaz. Even with Clayton Kershaw retired, this is arguably the strongest iteration of the Dodgers over the last decade, and this series will provide Giants fans with their first look at the juggernaut.
April 24-26 vs. Miami Marlins
After celebrating the career of Brandon Crawford last April, the Giants will pay homage to another franchise icon on April 25 when they host Brandon Belt Celebration Day.
Belt spent all but one of his 13 seasons in the majors with the Giants, helping San Francisco capture championships in 2012 and ‘14. A one-time All-Star, Belt had a career .261/.356/.458 slash line with 175 home runs and 584 RBIs over 1,310 regular-season games with the Giants.
The defining moment of Belt’s long tenure in San Francisco arrived in the early hours of Oct. 5, 2014, in the nation’s capital. With the Giants and Nationals notched at one apiece in the top of the 18th, Belt blasted a solo homer that propelled San Francisco to a 2-0 series lead in the NLCS and, to that point, their 10th straight postseason victory.
July 6-8 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the defending American League champions arrive for a three-game set at Oracle Park.
After losing in seven games to the Dodgers in the World Series, Toronto bolstered its rotation by signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million pact. They also added former Giant Tyler Rogers; reigning KBO MVP Cody Ponce; and Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who blasted 248 homers over 11 seasons in the KBO.
For one new Giant, there likely won’t be a shortage of daps and hugs with the opposition. Hunter Mense, the Giants’ new hitting coach, served as the Blue Jays’ minor-league hitting coordinator from 2019-22 before joining the major-league staff as an assistant hitting coach from 2022-25.
August 21-23 at Boston Red Sox
Rafael Devers called Boston his home for nine seasons. He evolved into one of the game’s best hitters during his time in Beantown, earning three All-Star appearances, winning two Silver Sluggers and helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series. For all he accomplished, a hero’s welcome likely doesn’t await.
The final months of Devers’ tenure with the Red Sox were messy — ending with the Giants acquiring him in a shocking blockbuster trade. Devers played his old team in San Francisco just days after the deal, but August will mark his first return to Fenway Park since becoming a Giant.
San Francisco Giants’ Rafael Devers (16) examines his bat during batting practice before their MLB game against the Boston Red Sox at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 20, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
There will, of course, be vitriol from Boston fans. But maybe the passage of time will reduce potential venom. The Red Sox made the playoffs after trading Devers, and 21-year-old Roman Anthony looks like a star in the making. Boston also gained a ton of financial flexibility after getting Devers’ contract off the books.
Then again, this is Boston.
August 27-30 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
It will be quite the summer for Jeff Kent. In July, he’ll make a trip to Cooperstown and be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Then, on Aug. 29, Kent will return to Oracle Park as the Giants officially retire his No. 21.
Kent, the all-time leader in home runs by a second baseman, will become the 14th person in franchise history to have his jersey number retired by the Giants, joining Christy Mathewson (no number), John McGraw (no number), Bill Terry (3), Mel Ott (4), Carl Hubbell (11), Monte Irvin (20), Will Clark (22), Willie Mays (24), Barry Bonds (25), Juan Marichal (27), Orlando Cepeda (30), Gaylord Perry (36) and Willie McCovey (44).
(AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
San Francisco Giants’ Jeff Kent, right, is congratulated by teammate Ellis Burks after the pair scored on a three-run double by J.T. Snow during the Giants’ six-run first inning against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, May 11, 1999, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
Over six seasons in San Francisco, Kent was a three-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, won the 2000 NL MVP and helped lead the Giants to a World Series appearance in 2002. Kent had a career .297/.368/.535 slash line with San Francisco, hitting 175 home runs with 689 RBIs.
GIANTS 2026 SCHEDULE
