Major League Baseball announced the 2012 schedule Wednesday morning and for the Nationals it features a season opener in the Windy City, a visit from the New York Yankees and trips to Boston and Toronto during interleague play. The Nationals will open next season on April 5 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.
They’ll depart from Viera, Fla., and start the season on a six-game, seven-day road trip to Chicago and New York, facing the Mets April 9-11 at Citi Field. The Nationals will return home for the Nationals Park opener on April 12 against Cincinnati in an 11-game homestand that features four with the Reds, four against the Houston Astros and three against the newly-renamed Miami Marlins.
Interleague for the Nationals next year will put them against the American League East, including three weekend games at home against the New York Yankees June 15-17. They’ll also welcome the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles, travel to Fenway Park June 8-10 to face the Red Sox and to face the Blue Jays in Toronto June 11-13. The dates for the Nationals’ Beltway series with the Orioles will be in Baltimore June 22-24 and in Washington May 18-20.
Their first west coast trip will take them to San Diego and Los Angeles immediately after their first homestand. They’ll also go west for a 10-game trip from Aug. 6-15 when they travel to Houston, Arizona and San Francisco.
The Nationals will play at home against the Giants on July 4 and on Labor Day against the Cubs. They end the season with three games at home against the Philadelphia Phillies October 1-3.
The full schedule is below:
Apr. 5, 7-8 at Chicago Cubs
Apr. 9-11 at N.Y. Mets
Apr. 12-15 Cincinnati
Apr. 16-19 Houston
Apr. 20-22 Miami
Apr. 24-26 at San Diego
Apr. 27-29 at L.A. Dodgers
May 1-3 Arizona
May 4-6 Philadelphia
May 8-10 at Pittsburgh
May 11-13 at Cincinnati
May 14-15 San Diego
May 16-17 Pittsburgh
May 18-20 Baltimore
May 21-23 at Philadelphia
May 25-27 at Atlanta
May 28-30 at Miami
June 1-3 Atlanta
June 5-8 N.Y. Mets
June 8-10 at Boston
June 11-13 at Toronto
June 15-17 N.Y. Yankees
June 19-21 Tampa Bay
June 22-24 at Baltimore
June 25-28 at Colorado
June 29-July 1 at Atlanta
July 3-5 San Francisco
July 6-8 Colorado
July 9-12 ALL-STAR BREAK
July 13-16 at Miami
July 17-19 N.Y. Mets
July 20-22 Atlanta
July 23-25 at N.Y. Mets
July 26-29 at Milwaukee
July 31-Aug. 2 Philadelphia
Aug. 3-5 Miami
Aug. 6-9 at Houston
Aug. 10-12 at Arizona
Aug. 13-15 at San Francisco
Aug. 17-19 N.Y. Mets
Aug. 20-22 Atlanta
Aug. 24-26 at Philadelphia
Aug. 28-29 at Miami
Aug. 30-Sept. 2 St. Louis
Sept. 3-6 Chicago Cubs
Sept. 7-9 Miami
Sept. 10-12 at N.Y. Mets
Sept. 14-16 at Atlanta
Sept. 18-20 L.A. Dodgers
Sept. 21-24 Milwaukee
Sept. 25-27 at Philadelphia
Sept. 28-30 at St. Louis
Oct. 1-3 Philadelphia
• Amanda Comak can be reached at acomak@washingtontimes.com.
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