Columbia, Mo. – Four former Mizzou Baseball players appear on 2021 Major League Baseball Opening Day active rosters.

The quartet of Tigers in the majors are all pitchers, with Pete Fairbanks (Rays), Kyle Gibson (Rangers), Tanner Houck (Red Sox) and Max Scherzer (Nationals) all active to begin the season.

Gibson and Scherzer have been announced as the Opening Day starting pitchers for their clubs. Gibson's Rangers face Kansas City while Scherzer's Nationals meet the Mets. Gibson is making his first Opening Day start of his career. Meanwhile, Scherzer takes the ball to start the Nationals' campaign for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Scherzer begins his 14th season in the big leagues and seventh with the Nationals organization.  A seven-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner, Scherzer is 175-93 in his career with a 3.21 ERA.

Gibson's ninth year in the majors begins with his first Opening Day start. The veteran returns to the Show Me State to record the honor, as his Rangers take on the Royals in Kansas City. The right-hander enters the year with 903 career strikeouts in the bigs.

Houck is making his first appearance on an Opening Day roster after being recalled from the alternate site on Thursday morning. The right-hander is scheduled to start the second game for the Red Sox in their series with the Orioles. In his first MLB action last fall, Houck was a perfect 3-0 in three starts with a 0.53 ERA.

Fairbanks figures to play a key role in the backend of the Rays' bullpen entering his third season in the majors. The right-hander is coming off his most successful season as a pro, going 6-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 27 appearances in 2020.