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The 2020 Major League Baseball season was to begin March 26, but the coronavirus changed all that. Nearly four months late, the 60-game regular season starts Thursday night with two ESPN nationally televised games: New York Yankees at Washington Nationals (7 p.m. ET) and San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (10 p.m. ET). Play ball!

The Nationals won their first-ever World Series title last October and in normal circumstances would raise their championship banner at Nationals Park and hand out World Series rings to players before the season opener, but GM Mike Rizzo has said neither will happen until fans are allowed in the stands – and that’s almost surely not going to be the case until 2021.

Until late last week, it wasn’t even a sure thing the Nats were going to be able to play at Nationals Park due to strict coronavirus protocols in DC, but they have been cleared to do so. Washington actually lost all three home games in last year’s World Series yet still beat Houston in seven.