Cleveland Guardians Receive Frustrating News as 2026 Game Times Announced

Cleveland Guardians fans will not be thrilled when seeing the start times to begin the 2026 season.

Oct 1, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians fans hold a banner during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians fans are a loyal bunch and it's not unheard of to meet someone who watches all 162 games every year.

Unfortunately, completing that task has been made a bit more difficult from the start in 2026. The Guardians released game times for the 2026 season recently and the first week of games is already providing an issue for fans.

Can you believe the regular season is right around The Corner?

Announcing our finalized 2026 regular season game times and broadcast schedule 🚨#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/7C2g6Cs9ZR

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) January 26, 2026

The Guardians get underway on March 26, exactly two months from today. They are in Seattle and first pitch will be at 10:10 pm ET on that Thursday night. The team has 9:40 pm ET start times the following two days before a Sunday Night Baseball appearance Sunday, March 29 at 7:20 pm ET.

The late times to start the season are not ideal, but the national spotlight in the first series of the year is something, even if the game is exclusively on Peacock.

The Guardians follow this opening series up by heading south to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. That series presents three more late weekday starts before the team heads home to take on the Chicago Cubs in the April 3 home opener.

A West Coast trip to start the season is nothing new, and makes sense given the weather in Cleveland in late March and early April. Still, there does seem to be a potential middle ground where the game can start even a little earlier to appease the Cleveland fans watching at home.

The Guardians are known for their slow offseasons and that remains true in 2026. There has been the uplifting news that Jose Ramirez is reportedly signing an extension that will keep him in town for the remainder of his career. Now fans are hoping he will get some help. That, however, seems unlikely given how this organization operates.

The late start times will be frustrating in the moment, but the team being back in action will be an overwhelming positive as the 2026 season gets underway. Baseball is an everyday sport and fans may feel somewhat empty in the offseason without the daily highs and lows of 162 games.

The next step for fans after today's news may be to call out of work on March 27 in order to stay up late and enjoy Guardians baseball after such a long offseason layoff. Of course, spring training action will be underway during the last week of February.