List of Houston Astros Opening Day starting pitchers

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Houston, Texas. They currently play in the American League West division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.

The Astros began to play in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s (their name was changed to the Astros in 1965 when the Houston Astrodome opened as their home ball park). Bobby Shantz started their first Opening Day game on April 10, 1962, against the Chicago Cubs at Houston's Colt Stadium and was credited with the win. In their first eight seasons, the Colt .45s / Astros used eight different Opening Day starters. In 1970, that streak ended when Larry Dierker made his second Opening Day start.

Roy Oswalt has made the most Opening Day starts for the Astros, with eight such starts from 2003 through 2010. Three different pitchers have each made five Opening Day starts for the Astros: J. R. Richard (1976–1980), Mike Scott (1987–1991) and Shane Reynolds (1996–2000). Dierker made four Opening Day starts for the Astros, and Joe Niekro and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan made three apiece. Dierker has the best record in Opening Day starts with four wins and no losses. Niekro and Don Wilson share the worst record in Opening Day starts with no wins and two losses each. Niekro also had one no decision.

The Houston Astros have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 61 seasons. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 30 wins, 21 losses and ten no decisions (which has resulted in a record of 33–28). The Astros have played in three home ball parks. Their first home ball park was Colt Stadium. Their starting pitchers had one win and one loss in their two Opening Day games at Colt Stadium. They played 25 Opening Day games in the Astrodome after moving there in 1965, and their starting pitchers had a record of twelve wins, eight losses and five no decisions in those games (going 14–11 overall). In 2000, they moved to Enron Field (subsequently renamed Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) in Downtown Houston. Through 2024, they have played seventeen Opening Day games there and have seen Astros starters go 8–4 with five no decisions (8–9 overall). This makes the record of the Astros' Opening Day starting pitchers in home games 21 wins, 13 losses and ten no decisions (23–21 overall). Their record in Opening Day away games is nine wins, eight losses and two no decisions (10–9 overall). In 2022, they set a modern Major League Baseball record by winning on Opening Day for the tenth straight season.

Key

†	World Series Champions

Pitchers

Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Season	Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Pitcher	Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Decision	Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Final
score	Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Opponent	Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Location	Houston Astros	border=2}}"	Ref(s)
1962		W		Chicago Cubs	Colt Stadium
1963		L		San Francisco Giants	Colt Stadium
1964		W		Cincinnati Reds	Crosley Field
1965		L		Philadelphia Phillies	Astrodome
1966		L		Los Angeles Dodgers	Dodger Stadium
1967		W		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1968		W		Pittsburgh Pirates	Astrodome
1969		L		San Diego Padres	San Diego Stadium
1970	(2)	W		San Francisco Giants	Candlestick Park
1971	(3)	W		Los Angeles Dodgers	Astrodome
1972	(2)	L		San Francisco Giants	Astrodome
1973		ND (W)		Atlanta Braves	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
1974	(2)	L		San Francisco Giants	Candlestick Park
1975	(4)	W		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1976		L		Cincinnati Reds	Riverfront Stadium
1977	(2)	ND (W)		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1978	(3)	L		Cincinnati Reds	Riverfront Stadium
1979	(4)	W		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1980*	(5)	W		Los Angeles Dodgers	Astrodome
1981*		L		Los Angeles Dodgers	Dodger Stadium
1982		L		St. Louis Cardinals	Astrodome
1983	(2)	ND (L)		Los Angeles Dodgers	Astrodome
1984	(3)	L		Montreal Expos	Astrodome
1985	(2)	W		Los Angeles Dodgers	Astrodome
1986*	(3)	L		San Francisco Giants	Astrodome
1987		W		Los Angeles Dodgers	Astrodome
1988	(2)	W		San Diego Padres	Astrodome
1989	(3)	W		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1990	(4)	ND (L)		Cincinnati Reds	Astrodome
1991	(5)	L		Cincinnati Reds	Riverfront Stadium
1992		L		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1993		L		Philadelphia Phillies	Astrodome
1994	(2)	ND (W)		Montreal Expos	Astrodome
1995	(2)	W		San Diego Padres	Jack Murphy Stadium
1996		L		Los Angeles Dodgers	Astrodome
1997*	(2)	W		Atlanta Braves	Astrodome
1998*	(3)	ND (L)		San Francisco Giants	Astrodome
1999*	(4)	W		Chicago Cubs	Astrodome
2000	(5)	W		Pittsburgh Pirates	Three Rivers Stadium
2001*		W		Milwaukee Brewers	Enron Field
2002		L		Milwaukee Brewers	Astros Field
2003		W		Colorado Rockies	Minute Maid Park
2004*	(2)	ND (L)		San Francisco Giants	Minute Maid Park
2005**	(3)	L		St. Louis Cardinals	Minute Maid Park
2006	(4)	W		Florida Marlins	Minute Maid Park
2007	(5)	ND (L)		Pittsburgh Pirates	Minute Maid Park
2008	(6)	L		San Diego Padres	Petco Park
2009	(7)	L		Chicago Cubs	Minute Maid Park
2010	(8)	L		San Francisco Giants	Minute Maid Park
2011		ND (L)		Philadelphia Phillies	Citizens Bank Park
2012		ND (L)		Colorado Rockies	Minute Maid Park
2013		W		Texas Rangers	Minute Maid Park
2014		W		New York Yankees	Minute Maid Park
2015*		W		Cleveland Indians	Minute Maid Park
2016	(2)	W		New York Yankees	Yankee Stadium
2017†	(3)	W		Seattle Mariners	Minute Maid Park
2018*		W		Texas Rangers	Globe Life Park
2019***	(2)	W		Tampa Bay Rays	Tropicana Field
2020*	(3)	W		Seattle Mariners	Minute Maid Park
2021***		W		Oakland Athletics	RingCentral Coliseum
2022†		W		Los Angeles Angels	Angel Stadium
2023*	(2)	ND (L)		Chicago White Sox	Minute Maid Park
2024*	(3)	ND (L)		New York Yankees	Minute Maid Park
2025	(4)	W		New York Mets	Daikin Park