(AP) -- Major League Baseball starts the virus-delayed season Thursday night with two games.
Washington ace Max Scherzer is set to throw the first pitch when he faces Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees at Nationals Park. Later, Los Angeles lefty Clayton Kershaw takes on the rival San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
This opening day doubleheader begins the most unusual year in the history of Major League Baseball.
Teams will play 60 games in ballparks without fans, with a whole new set of rules and safety protocols. Sound effects will be piped into stadiums and cardboard cutouts will occupy many seats.
To start a season so deeply affected by the virus outbreak, the World Series champion Nationals will have Dr. Anthony Fauci (FOW'-chee), the nation's top infectious disease expert, toss out the ceremonial first ball.
The Nationals begin the defense of their World Series title against a franchise that in one way they're trying to replicate. No team has won consecutive championships in MLB since the Yankees took three in a row from 1998 to 2000.
