Report: Yankees' Cole vs. Nationals' Scherzer to highlight Opening Day

A high-profile matchup between ace right-handers is slated to kick off Major League Baseball's regular season on July 23.

Gerrit Cole will make his New York Yankees debut against Max Scherzer and the defending-champion Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post report.

The MLBPA signed off Thursday on a 60-game slate for the upcoming campaign, but the official schedule has yet to be announced.

Some players, though, remain concerned as they begin to ramp up baseball activities amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Cole, 29, signed a nine-year, $324-million contract with the Yankees in December after a pair of All-Star seasons with the Houston Astros, during which he went 35-10 with a 2.68 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 602 strikeouts in 412 2/3 innings.

Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner, is coming off a season in which he missed time with back issues. He still managed to go 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA in 27 starts. He allowed four earned runs in 10 innings during the World Series to help Washington secure its first championship.

The pair went head-to-head in Game 1 of the Fall Classic, from which Scherzer emerged victorious.