Less than three full days after releasing its 2020 schedule, Major League Baseball released 2021 schedules for all 30 major-league clubs on Thursday.
For the Red Sox, if all goes according to plan, they will open the season up against the Orioles for the second straight year at Fenway Park on April 1st, the first of three games over a four-day stretch. In other words, Opening Day next year is set for April 1st, and according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, all teams will begin their 2021 season on the same day for the first time since 1968.
Boston’s first road trip of the year will feature match-ups against the Orioles and Twins, while the club’s first interleague bout will take place later in April against the Mets in Queens.
Speaking of the Mets, the Red Sox’ interleague opponents will be the teams that comprise the National League East for the second consecutive year.
They play the Mets in New York in late April, the Phillies in Philadelphia and the Braves and Marlins at Fenway in late May, the Braves in Atlanta in June, the Phillies at Fenway right before the All-Star break in July, and the Nationals in the nation’s capital to close out the campaign in early October.
Other notable schedule highlights include:
A Patriots’ Day matchup against the White Sox on April 19th to close out a four-game set at home.
A four-game series against the Rangers at brand-new Globe Life Field in Arlington in late April/early May.
10 straight games against the Astros and Yankees beginning on May 31st (Memorial Day) and ending the evening of June 10th.
Yankees’ first trip to Fenway Park comes in late June.
An Independence Day match-up against the Athletics in Oakland, part of a six-game west coast road trip against the A’s and Angels.
18 straight games without a day off against divisional opponents coming out of the All-Star break and going into August.
Last two home series of the season come against New York teams, followed by a six-game Beltway road trip with stops in Baltimore and D.C. to close out the season, as previously mentioned.
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All in all, the Sox will be aiming to play 162 games in 186 days beginning next April. Of course, there’s still a 2020 season to worry about first. You can read about that schedule here.
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