For the third time in four seasons, the Kansas City Royals will start the Major League Baseball season at Kauffman Stadium, hosting the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, March 29th. The Royals, in conjunction with MLB, announced opponents and dates for the 2018 season on Tuesday morning. Game times will be decided at a later date. The season for the earlier than usual Opening Day date is four additional off days during the season added by MLB.
Kansas City will play 20 Interleague games over eight series, with four at home and four on the road, all against the National League Central. The Royals will compete against their ‘I-70 rivals’ in St. Louis from May 21-23 and will host the Cardinals on the weekend of August 10-12.
Kansas City will also host Interleague matchups vs. Milwaukee (April 24-25), Cincinnati (June 12-13) and the Chicago Cubs (August 6-8). The road Interleague schedule will take the Royals to Milwaukee (June 26-27), Pittsburgh (September 17-19) and Cincinnati (September 25-26), marking their fourth trips to Miller Park (also in 2001, ’07 and ’15), PNC Park (also, 2001, ’09 and ’12) and the Great American Ball Park (also, 2006, ’10 and ’15) in franchise history.
Kansas City’s holiday schedule sees the Royals at home on Easter Sunday vs. the White Sox in the season’s opening series (April 1), Memorial Day vs. Minnesota (May 28), Father’s Day vs. Houston (June 17) and Independence Day vs. Cleveland (July 4). They will travel to Cleveland on Mother’s Day (May 13) and Labor Day (September 3).
The All-Star break will run from July 16-19 and will include the 89th Major League Baseball All-Star Game to be played on Tuesday, July 17 in Washington, D.C.
The month-by-month home game totals are: March: two, April: 14, May: 13, June: 11, July: 12, August: 16 and September: 13. Kansas City will host one 10-game homestand from August 6-16 (11 days). The Royals are scheduled for one 10-game road trip from July 26-August 5 (11 days) to New York, Chicago and Minnesota.