Rainy Opening Day Set for Dunkin’ Park as Baysox Visit Yard Goats

HARTFORD, Conn. (Interstat) — The Hartford Yard Goats will raise the curtain on their 2026 Eastern League season at home Thursday against the Chesapeake Baysox, with weather potentially playing an early role.

First pitch at Dunkin’ Park is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. EDT under a forecast of 54-degree temperatures and rain.

The Baysox will send right-hander Trace Bright to the mound. Bright, who holds a 0-0 record, will be tasked with quieting a Hartford lineup that closed its 2025 campaign with a 5-2, 10-inning road victory over Richmond on Sept. 14. Chesapeake, then playing as the Bowie Baysox, ended its 2025 season with a 7-3 loss at New Hampshire on the same date.

Both clubs enter with identical 0-0 records to start the new season.

Despite the soggy conditions, the matchup projects to be a tight pitchers’ duel. Interstat’s game simulator predicts a narrow 1-0 victory for the visiting Baysox. However, the same outlet’s ELO rating system gives the home-standing Yard Goats a slight edge, projecting a 54.40% probability of winning.

The game marks the start of a three-game opening series between the teams. They will meet again Friday and Saturday in Hartford before the Baysox return home to begin a series against the Erie SeaWolves on April 7. The Yard Goats will hit the road for a six-game set against the Reading Fightin Phils starting April 7.

Thursday’s contest will be the first for both franchises under their new geographic identities, with the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate now representing Chesapeake and the Colorado Rockies’ affiliate officially branded as Hartford.