The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Sunday that left-handers Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu will start the first two games of the season in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The two teams will play a pair of games in Sydney on March 22-23.
The news was expected, especially after Zack Greinke’s calf injury earlier in camp took him out of consideration for the start.
Last season, Kershaw was 16-9 with a 1.83 ERA in 236 innings. He was awarded the National League Cy Young for the second time in his career.
Ryu was 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 192 innings last season. He finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting.
Kershaw will be making his fourth straight Opening Day start for the Dodgers.
After throwing five innings and 70 pitches Sunday with an extra day of rest from his previous start, Kershaw said he will make his last Cactus League start Saturday.
“Any time you start Opening Day, no matter what continent it’s on, it’s pretty cool,” Kershaw said. “I’ve done it now for a few years in a row and it’s special. I don’t take it for granted.”
Kershaw, who turns 26 on March 19, signed a seven-year, $215 million contract extension in January.
The Diamondbacks have already announced that Patrick Corbin and Trevor Cahill will start the two Australia games.