Braves buckle up for 60-game sprint vs. rivals
ATLANTA -- As the Braves bid for a third straight National League East crown, they’ll see a lot of the Mets early and then spend much of early September squaring off against the defending World Series-champion Nationals.
• Here is the Braves' 2020 regular-season schedule
The Braves may draw reigning Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom right out of the gate. They will open the 2020 season on the road against the Mets on July 24. deGrom against Mike Soroka would be an interesting matchup in an Opening Day game that is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. ET.
After playing their first three games at Citi Field, the Braves will conclude their season-opening five-game road trip with a pair of games in St. Petersburg against the Rays. The Rays will then travel to Truist Park to serve as the opponent for Atlanta’s home opener on July 29.
Teams will have little room for error over the 60-game sprint announced on Monday, but the Braves will have an even greater need to get off on the right foot. They are scheduled to play each of the season’s first 20 days and thus will not have an off-day until Aug. 13.
The Braves’ first homestand will also consist of four games against the Mets and three against the Blue Jays. Each of Atlanta’s first 11 games will be played against either the Mets or the Rays.
Atlanta is scheduled to play 23 games before first facing the Nationals on Aug. 17 at Truist Park. This will mark the start of a 24-game stretch during which the division rivals will square off 10 times.
Along with playing 40 games against division opponents, the Braves will play 20 games against teams from the American League East. They will play two three-game series against the Red Sox and two two-game, home-and-home series against the Yankees and Rays. They will play just three games against both the Orioles (in Baltimore) and Blue Jays (in Atlanta).
The Braves are scheduled to conclude the season on Sept. 27 against the Red Sox at 3:05 p.m. ET. Each of their home night games is scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m., and their Sunday home games are scheduled for 1:10 p.m., except for Aug. 23 vs. Philadelphia and the regular-season finale.