MLB Starting Pitchers for Friday 21: Predicting opening matchups for Yankees vs Blue Jays, Dodgers vs Cubs, Braves vs Astros, and more

With the 2023 MLB season beginning to take shape, several pitchers are proving their value to their respective teams.

Being a Friday, April 21 will feature every single MLB team in action as a flurry of weekend series are set to kick off.

The first match of the day will kick off at 1:20 pm CT at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Cubs will be taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Left-hander Julio Urias will be on the bump for the Dodgers. The Mexican left-hander is making his 5th start of the season and thus far has a record of 3-1, an an ERA of 1.90.

Julio Urias posted an ERA of just 2,16 over 175 innings in 2022, the lowest in the NL. Urias will face off against veteran Drew Smyly, who signed an offseason extension with the Cubs.

"JULIO URÍAS STARTS HIS SEASON WITH A STRIKEOUT OF KYLE LEWIS" - Jack

Aaron Nola will be taking the mound against the Colorado Rockies and Noah Davis in Philadelphia later. Nola, 29, is aiming to follow up his career-best 2022 campaign with the Phillies. However, the 6-foot-2 right-hander's shaky start has left him with an ERA of 5.91 in 4 starts this year.

The Toronto Blue Jays will be in the Bronx to take on the Bombers. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi is making his fourth start of the season and is looking to improve his numbers. Since earning an MLB All-Star team spot as a member of the Seattle Mariners in 2018, he has failed to achieve such success on the Blue Jays. Kikuchi finished the 2022 season with an ERA of 5.19.

Domingo German will be making the start for the Yankees. German, 30, is looking to break into a starting role after splitting his time between the rotation and the bullpen for the past several seasons.

"Domingo German has tied a career-high 10 strikeouts on 60 pitches through 5 innings." - FOX Sports: MLB

One of the final games of the day will feature LA Angels' star Shohei Ohtani making his 5th start of the season as his team welcomes the Kansas City Royals. Ohtani is 2-0 this season and will be intent on defending his 0.86 ERA, which is currently the fourth-lowest in the league.

Below is a complete list of pitchers starting around the MLB on April 21.

Los Angeles Angels @ Chicago Cubs 1:20 pm CT	Julio Urias (LAD)	Drew Smyly (CHC)
Cincinnati Reds @ Pittsburgh Pirates 6:35 pm ET	Graham Ashcraft (CIN)	Mitch Keller (PIT)
Chicago White Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays 6:40 pm ET	Michael Kopech (CWS)	Kevin Faucher (TBR)
Colorado Rockies @ Philadelphia Phillies 7:05 pm ET	Noah Davis (COL)	Aaron Nola (PHI)
Detroit Tigers @ Baltimore Orioles 7:05 pm ET	Michael Lorenzen (DET)	Tyler Wells (BAL)
Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees 7:05 pm ET	Yusei Kikuchi (TOR)	Domingo German (NYY)
Miami Marlins @ Cleveland Guardians 7:10 pm ET	Braxton Garrett (MIA)	Zach Plesac (CLE)
Houston Astros @ Atlanta Braves 7:20 pm ET	Hunter Brown (HOU)	Bryce Elder (ATL)
Oakland Athletics @ Texas Rangers 7:05 pm CT	JP Sears (OAK)	Jon Gray (TEX)
Boston Red Sox vs Milwaukee Brewers 7:10 pm CT	Nick Pivetta (BOS)	Freddy Peralta (MIL)
Kansas City Royals @ Los Angeles Angels 7:38 pm PT	Taylor Clarke (KCR)	Shohei Ohtani (LAA)
San Diego Padres @ Arizona Diamondbacks 7:40 pm PT	Seth Lugo (SDP)	Zac Gallen (ARZ)
St. Louis Cardinals @ Seattle Mariners 8:10 pm PT	Steven Matz (STL)	George Kirby (SEA)

MLB starters will hope to get out in front of weekend series

With almost every single game in the MLB on April 21 set to be the first of a weekend series, teams will be eager to log a win in the first match of the weekend.

Fans can tune in at 1 pm Central Time and enjoy baseball until the small hours of the next morning.