Dates to remember. 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/4iCN82Nuz7
— MLB (@MLB) July 7, 2020
MLB schedule: Full list of 2020 Opening Day games; other dates to circle during 60-game season
There are 14 games on Friday's Opening Day slate
Major League Baseball is back. MLB released its full schedule for the 60-game 2020 season earlier in the month, and all teams will start play either Thursday or Friday. The "Opening Night" on Thursday featured two games: Yankees at Nationals and Giants at Dodgers. A traditional Opening Day will take place on July 24, a Friday, with a 14-game schedule (the Yankees and Nationals are off).
Here's the full Opening Day schedule (all times Eastern):
Thursday, July 23 (Opening Night)
New York Yankees 4, Washington Nationals 1 (Final/5 innings)
Los Angeles Dodgers 8, San Francisco Giants 1
Friday, July 24 (Opening Day)
Atlanta Braves at New York Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Detroit Tigers at Cincinnati Reds, 6:10 p.m.
Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays, 6:40 p.m.
Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 p.m.
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs, 7:10 p.m.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians, 7:10 p.m.
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox, 7:30 p.m.
Colorado Rockies at Texas Rangers, 8:05 p.m.
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 p.m.
Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros, 9:10 p.m.
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, 9:10 p.m.
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:40 p.m.
Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics, 10:10 p.m.
Teams will play "regional" schedules in 2020. They'll face the other four teams in their division 10 times each and play 20 games against the interleague teams in their region (ex: teams in the NL East will face AL East teams). The 60-game regular season sprint is set to finish on Sunday, Sept. 27. The full 2020 MLB schedule can be found here.
Players began reporting to a second spring training (aka "summer camp") last week. However, there have already been issues with the league's coronavirus testing process, and uncertainty surrounds the 2020 season.
But the schedule is set. Here are five takeaways from MLB releasing each team's 60-game slate.
Opening Day highlights
While Yankees-Nationals and Dodgers-Giants figure to get plenty of attention on July 23, the July 24 Opening Day slate has plenty of appealing matchups. The second day of the 2020 season will see a near-full slate of games, with the earliest game (Braves at Mets) set to begin at 4:10 p.m. ET and latest game (Angels at Athletics) to kick off at 10:10 p.m. ET.
Among the Opening Day highlights: The Texas Rangers will play their first game at the new Globe Life Field on Friday as they host the Colorado Rockies; and Madison Bumgarner will likely make his debut as a Diamondback after signing a five-year, $85 million deal this winter, in their Opening Day game against the Padres. Our R.J. Anderson ranked each 2020 Opening Day matchup.
Cards-White Sox confirmed for Field of Dreams
MLB is still hoping to play at the "Field of Dreams" ballpark this season, and on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals were officially announced as replacements for the Yankees in a matchup against the Chicago White Sox. As part of the league's remade schedule, teams will be limited to only playing their division rivals and geographical counterparts. So, the Cardinals will face the White Sox in the Aug. 13 game in Dyersville, Iowa.
The ballpark is being constructed at the "Field of Dreams" movie set, and was meant to hold up to 8,000 fans. MLB is continuing construction, and it's likely that the game will be forced to be held without any fans in attendance. The game will be the first MLB game ever played in Iowa.
Strength of schedules
Not all MLB schedules are created equal, especially in 2020. Here's a look at the toughest and easiest 2020 slates based on 2019 opponent winning percentage:
Easiest strength of schedule
- Twins: .449
- Indians: .451
- Cardinals: .475
- White Sox: .477
- Dodgers: .482
- Rays: .482
Hardest strength of schedule
- Marlins: .534
- Angels: .534
- Orioles: .532
- Mariners: .531
- Rockies: .523
- Rangers: .518
Yankees should have easy finish
For the reigning division champion Yankees, they're going to have a relatively easy closing stretch to the 2020 season. The team will play all but one of their final seven series against teams that have lost 95 games or more in 2019. The breakdown will be 10 games against Toronto, seven against Baltimore and three against Miami. The Yankees are favored to win the AL East again in 2020, and they could likely step on the gas late if they need to.
Imbalanced rivalry series
Divisional rivalries will exist in 2020, but in a handful of notable series, one team will have the upper hand in terms of travel. The Yankees and Red Sox will face each other 10 times, with seven of those games scheduled to be played at Yankee Stadium. The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers will also face each other for 10 games in 2020, and seven of the games will be played in Los Angeles. And finally, the Chicago Cubs will host the St. Louis Cardinals in seven out of their 10 scheduled games for the 2020 season.
A few other noteworthy highlights for the league's 60-game slate:
- MLB will honor the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues on Aug. 16.
- Jackie Robinson Day, which normally takes place each April 15, will be celebrated throughout the league on Aug. 28. That date is the anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963, as well as the date in 1945 when Branch Rickey met with Jackie Robinson to discuss his future in the big leagues.
- Roberto Clemente Day will be celebrated across the league on Sept. 9.
- The final day of the 2020 regular season is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27. All games will begin at 3 p.m. ET to close out the season.
Live updates
Clarke lookin' sharp 👀🔥 @ClarkeSchmidt pic.twitter.com/X7CIG0SiKb
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 7, 2020
A base knock for Baby G. @TorresGleyber pic.twitter.com/8d6XWcC52d
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 6, 2020
Play Ball in the Bronx 🙌 @YESNetwork pic.twitter.com/g3OGHJiZV3
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 6, 2020
LIVE: Batting practice from Dodger Stadium https://t.co/HmIwJl0XGU
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 6, 2020
MLB2NITE is on the air ... come join me along with the “hammer” @JonHeyman and host Fran Charles .... talking the 2020 sched, @faridyu new pitch and much more ...7-8pm ET .... then right back 8-9pm .... ⚾️. pic.twitter.com/KNdJgfFRui
— Dan Plesac (@Plesac19) July 6, 2020
The entire 2020 @MLB 60-game season was unveiled tonight on @MLBNetwork. Opening Night on @espn on 7/23 features @Yankees @ @Nationals and @SFGiants @ @Dodgers; 14 games scheduled for Opening Day on 7/24, including four games on @FOXSports. pic.twitter.com/D7jgNy3cm0
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) July 6, 2020
Matty V, Harold and Tom highlight some unique aspects of the 2020 schedule. #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/DRTU0n7Kdn
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 6, 2020
Stay tuned...#NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/uYlXXEDAHS
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 6, 2020
MLB's regular season begins on July 23rd with two great matchups. pic.twitter.com/jXH6OO8Doc
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2020
Will your team start the season 1-0?
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2020
(MLB x @CampingWorld) pic.twitter.com/HbtKgDzkUm
2020 will be wild out West! #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/lywk5moylj
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 6, 2020
THE RACE IS ON. pic.twitter.com/YzvkdK76Uj
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 6, 2020
2020 60-Game Yankees Schedule@CampingWorld pic.twitter.com/hq7qrYaH9x
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 6, 2020
Here's a look at the Yankees 2020 series schedule:
Here’s the Yankees’ schedule (without dates). pic.twitter.com/6I7cWkekZ1
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 6, 2020
A breakdown of the NY Mets 2020 season:
More Mets schedule details. They will play the following teams (in this order, courtesy MLB Network): pic.twitter.com/hRO1DYPn2C
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 6, 2020
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2020 60-Game Washington Nationals Schedule.#NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/F6yZQ2otmH
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 6, 2020
Are you ready? #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/DDEjT2DRwC
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 6, 2020
MLB's regular season begins on July 23rd with two great matchups. pic.twitter.com/jXH6OO8Doc
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2020
Opening Day games will continue on Friday, July 24th. The matchups include:
Braves-Mets at 4:10 p.m.
Tigers-Reds at 6:10 p.m.
Blue Jays-Rays at 6:40 p.m.
Marlins-Phillies at 7:05 p.m.
Royals-Indians at 7:10 p.m.
Brewers-Cubs at 7:10 p.m.
Orioles-Red Sox at 7:30 p.m.
Rockies-Rangers at 8:05 p.m.
Twins-White Sox at 8:10 p.m.
Pirates-Cardinals at 8:15 p.m.
Mariners-Astros at 9:10 p.m.
Diamondbacks-Padres at 9:10 p.m.
Giants-Dodgers at 9:40 p.m.
Angels-Athletics 10:10 p.m.
(All times are E.T.)
MLB's regular season begins on July 23rd with two great matchups. pic.twitter.com/jXH6OO8Doc
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2020
July 23rd will be 'Opening Night' with Yankees-Nationals at 7 p.m. ET and Giants-Dodgers at 10 p.m. ET.
The Dodgers announced that Jimmy Nelson will undergo surgery on his low back (lumbar) tomorrow in Los Angeles. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Robert Watkins.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 6, 2020
Schedule coming soon
MLB is set to release each team's full 60-game schedule over the next hour. Some Opening Day matchups have already leaked, including:
- Yankees-Nationals on a July 23 Opening Day (or night)
- Dodgers-Giants to follow Yankees-Nationals
- Brewers-Cubs, Braves-Mets and more on July 24
Here's a full rundown about what we already know.
.@kikehndez fooled a few teammates with his fake tattoos, including @Cody_Bellinger!@Plakata | @ChrisRose | @Dodgers pic.twitter.com/8hAgHhF2h3
— Intentional Talk (@IntentionalTalk) July 6, 2020
Largest Long Term player contracts with teams (only) for athletes in MLB/NFL/NBA/Boxing:
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) July 6, 2020
Pat Mahomes QB KC $450m ($140m guaranteed)
Mike Trout CF LAA $426.5m (fully guaranteed)
Canelo Alvarez Boxing $365m
Bryce Harper RF PHL $330m (fully guaranteed).
Largest Long Term player contracts with teams (only) for athletes in MLB/NFL/NBA/Boxing:
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) July 6, 2020
Pat Mahomes QB KC $450m ($140m guaranteed)
Mike Trout CF LAA $426.5m (fully guaranteed)
Carmelo Alvarez Boxing $365m
Bryce Harper RF PHL $330m (fully guaranteed).
LIVE: @mookiebetts press conference from Dodger Stadium https://t.co/sIigU2mpWX
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 6, 2020