MLB announces game times for 2020 regular season schedule
Major League Baseball today announced the game times for its master 2020 regular season schedule, which will begin with all 30 Major League Clubs playing on Opening Day on Thursday, March 26th. Opening Day of the 2020 campaign is scheduled to mark the first time since 1968 in which every team across the Majors plays their first game of the season on the same day.
ESPN will provide Opening Day coverage that begins with the defending World Champion Washington Nationals visiting the New York Mets (1:10 p.m. ET), followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers welcoming the San Francisco Giants (4:10 p.m. ET/1:10 p.m. PT), and culminating with the 2019 American League Champion Houston Astros hosting the Los Angeles Angels (7:10 p.m. ET/4:10 p.m. PT). ESPN will broadcast an additional seven games during the first week of the season following traditional Opening Day.
FOX will begin its 2020 national coverage on Saturday, March 28th when the Mets host the Nationals at Citi Field at 4:05 p.m. (ET) on FS1, followed by the Atlanta Braves visiting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field at 8:10 p.m. (ET)/5:10 p.m. (PT). MLB on TBS live game coverage will return on Sunday, July 5th and will continue each Sunday through the end of the regular season.
MLB Network will have extensive coverage of Opening Day on Thursday, March 26th featuring its signature live look-ins at games in progress on MLB Tonight starting at 1:00 p.m. (ET). MLB Network’s comprehensive regular season studio programming lineup will return on Friday, March 27th with MLB Central, High Heat with Christopher Russo, The Rundown, MLB Now, Intentional Talk, MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch featuring previews, highlights, analysis and interviews.
The final day of the 2020 regular season, which features 12 divisional match-ups, is scheduled for Sunday, September 27th. For the sixth consecutive year, all games played on the final scheduled day of the regular season will begin at 3:00 p.m. (ET), with potential Postseason ramifications at stake.
Among the other highlights of the 2020 regular season:
The first game at Globe Life Field, the new home of the Texas Rangers, will be played on Tuesday, March 31st at 4:05 p.m. (ET)/3:05 p.m. (CT) against the Angels.
In a rematch of the 2019 World Series, the Nationals will host the Astros for a three-game set beginning on Friday, July 3rd at 6:05 p.m. (ET).
Following their second ALCS meeting in three seasons, the Astros and New York Yankees will square off for a three-game series at Minute Maid Park beginning on Friday, May 15th at 8:10 p.m. (ET)/7:10 p.m. (CT). The teams will meet again for a four-game set at Yankee Stadium beginning on Monday, September 21st at 7:05 p.m. (ET).
The Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals, who met in the 2019 National League Championship Series, will play a four-game series at Busch Stadium beginning on Monday, June 29th at 8:15 p.m. (ET)/7:15 p.m. (CT), and will meet again the following week for a three-game set at Nationals Park beginning on Tuesday, July 7th at 7:05 p.m. (ET).
2020 Opening Day includes an Interleague match-up between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Tropicana Field (4:10 p.m. ET).
The Dodgers host the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium at 10:10 p.m. (ET)/7:10 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday, April 15th, which is Jackie Robinson Day throughout Major League Baseball.
Following the historic first-ever games played in Europe in 2019, MLB will return to London Stadium for Mitel & MLB Present London 2020, a two-game set on June 13th-14th between the host Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. FOX Sports will provide coverage of the game on Saturday, June 13th at 1:10 p.m. ET, while ESPN will broadcast the game on Sunday, June 14th (time TBD).
The Miami Marlins will host the Mets in the Puerto Rico Series, a three-game set at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico beginning on Tuesday, April 28th at 7:10 p.m. (ET).
In the first-ever regular season games in Mexico City, Mexico, the Diamondbacks will host the San Diego Padres for a two-game set at the new Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium beginning on Saturday, April 18th at 7:10 p.m. (ET)/4:10 p.m. (PT).
“MLB at Field of Dreams" presented by GEICO” between the Chicago White Sox and Yankees on Thursday, August 13th in Dyersville, Iowa at 7:20 p.m. (ET)/6:20 p.m. (CT) on FOX. Part of the GEICO Summer Series, the historic game will be the first Major League game ever played in Iowa.
The fourth Little League Classic presented by GEICO on Sunday, August 23rd, featuring the host Baltimore Orioles and the Red Sox at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, PA, home of the Little League World Series (7:10 p.m. ET).
The 2020 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, to be hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14th on FOX.
The Angels will welcome the Nationals to Anaheim for a three-game set beginning on Monday, May 11th at 10:07 p.m. (ET)/7:07 p.m. (PT) as Anthony Rendon squares off against his former Club for the first time.
The Cubs will host the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series beginning on Friday, June 19th at 2:20 p.m. (ET)/1:20 p.m. (CT), and visit Yankee Stadium for a three-game set beginning on Friday, June 26th at 7:05 p.m. (ET). It marks Boston’s third-ever regular season series at Wrigley Field and the first since June 2012. For the Cubs, it will be their third-ever regular season road series against the Yankees and the first since April 2014.
The Angels will host the Dodgers for a two-game series at Angel Stadium starting on Friday, July 10th at 10:07 p.m. (ET)/7:07 p.m. (PT), marking the first time that Interleague prime rivals square off in the same market as the All-Star Game leading into the break.
The Dodgers will host their NL West-rival Giants in the only Major League game played on Thursday, July 16th, following the All-Star break at 8:09 p.m. (ET)/5:09 p.m. (PT) on ESPN.
Mike Trout and the Angels will visit Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series immediately after the All-Star break beginning on Friday, July 17th at 7:05 p.m. (ET). The series will mark Trout’s second trip to Philadelphia near his hometown of Millville, NJ, following a two-game set in May 2014. In addition, it will be the fourth time the two All-Stars, who are linked by their respective Rookie of the Year-winning seasons in 2012, square off in their careers, following a three-game set in Washington in April 2014 and a pair of two-game sets in Anaheim and Washington in July and August 2017.