MLB Announces Game Times for 2019 Regular Season Schedule
Press release Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball announced the game times for its master 2019 regular season schedule, which will begin with the 2019 Japan Opening Series, featuring the Oakland Athletics hosting the Seattle Mariners at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on March 20th-21st. ESPN will broadcast both games of the Opening Series at 5:35 a.m. (ET)/2:35 a.m. (PT). Traditional Opening Day, featuring all 30 Major League Clubs, will take place on Thursday, March 28th, when all 30 Clubs are scheduled to play.
For the second consecutive year, all 30 Major League Clubs are scheduled to play on Opening Day. The 2018 campaign had been scheduled to be the first season since 1968 that every team across the Majors opened on the same date, before two weather-related postponements allowed for just 13 of the 15 scheduled games to be played. The 1968 campaign began on Wednesday, April 10th with each of the 20 Major League Clubs in action. Additionally, the 2019 season will mark the second straight season, and the 13th campaign in history, to open on a Thursday. Other seasons to do so include 1901-04, 1907, 1912, 1959, 1973-74, 1976 and 2011.
ESPN will provide extensive Opening Day coverage that begins with the Baltimore Orioles visiting the New York Yankees (1:05 p.m. ET), followed by the defending National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks (4:10 p.m. ET/1:10 p.m. PT), and culminating with the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox visiting the Mariners (7:10 p.m. ET/4:10 p.m. PT). In addition to the Japan Opening Series, ESPN will broadcast 10 games during the first week of the season following traditional Opening Day.
FOX will begin its 2019 national coverage on Saturday, March 30th when the Philadelphia Phillies host the defending NL East Champion Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park at 4:05 p.m. ET on FS1, followed by the Oakland Athletics hosting the Los Angeles Angels at 9:07 p.m. (ET)/6:07 p.m. (PT). MLB on TBS live game coverage will return Sunday, July 7th, and continue each Sunday through the end of the regular season.
MLB Network will have extensive live coverage of Opening Day on Thursday, March 28th, followed on Friday, March 29th by the return of its regular season programming lineup of MLB Central, High Heat with Christopher Russo, The Rundown, MLB Now, Intentional Talk, MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch with live look-ins at games in progress, interviews, previews, highlights and analysis.
The final day of the 2019 regular season, which features 12 divisional match-ups, is scheduled for Sunday, September 29th. For the fifth 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 2019 regular season:
- In a rematch of the 2018 World Series, the Red Sox will host the Dodgers at Fenway Park following the All-Star break for a three-game set beginning on Friday, July 12th at 7:10 p.m. (ET)/4:10 p.m. (PT). It marks the third-ever regular season trip to Boston by the Dodgers, and the first since June 2010.
- After a thrilling seven-game National League Championship Series, the Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers will meet again for a three-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning on Friday, April 12th at 10:10 p.m. (ET)/7:10 p.m. (PT), and will square off a week later for a four-game set at Miller Park beginning on Thursday, April 18th at 8:10 p.m. (ET)/7:10 p.m. (CT).
- The Red Sox and Houston Astros, who met in the 2018 American League Championship Series, will play a three-game series at Fenway Park beginning on Friday, May 17th at 7:10 p.m. (ET), and will meet again the following week for a three-game set at Minute Maid Park beginning on Friday, May 24th at 8:10 p.m. (ET)/7:10 p.m. (CT).
- 2019 Opening Day includes an Interleague match-up between the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Park in Arlington (4:05 p.m. ET/3:05 p.m. CT).
- The Dodgers host the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium at 10:10 p.m. (ET)/7:10 p.m. (PT) on Monday, April 15th, which is Jackie Robinson Day throughout Major League Baseball.
- Mitel & MLB Present London 2019, an historic two-game set at London Stadium, will take place on June 29th-30th between the host Red Sox and Yankees in the first-ever Major League games played in Europe. FOX Sports will provide coverage of the game on Saturday, June 29th at 1:10 p.m. ET, while ESPN will broadcast the game on Sunday, June 30th at 10:10 a.m. ET.
- In special international events at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, the Reds will host the St. Louis Cardinals on April 13th-14th, while the Los Angeles Angels will host the Astros on May 4th-5th.
- “MLB in Omaha” will take place on Thursday, June 13th at 8:05 p.m. (ET)/7:05 p.m. (CT) on ESPN, two days prior to the start of the 2019 NCAA Men’s College World Series. The first Major League game ever played in Nebraska, part of the new GEICO Summer Series, will feature the host Kansas City Royals against the Detroit Tigers.
- On Sunday, August 18th (7:10 p.m. ET on ESPN), the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the Cubs in Williamsport, Pennsylvania during the third “MLB Little League Classic presented by GEICO” at Historic Bowman Field.
- Interleague play throughout the season will feature the AL East vs. NL West, AL Central vs. NL East and AL West vs. NL Central. In addition to Red Sox-Dodgers, notable series feature renewals of two other World Series matchups over the past 10 years, including Royals-New York Mets (August 16th-18th at Kauffman Stadium) and Cardinals- Rangers (May 17th-19th at Globe Life Park in Arlington).
- The 2019 All-Star Game, to be hosted by the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 9th on FOX.
- The final regular season game at Globe Life Park in Arlington will be played on Sunday, September 29th as the Rangers host the Yankees at 3:05 p.m. (ET)/2:05 p.m. (CT).
Please visit www.MLB.com for the complete 2019 American League and National League regular season schedules with game times.
