Matchups with AL East squads highlight Pirates’ 2017 schedule
As the 2016 regular season continues to wind down, Pittsburgh Pirates fans are already looking toward 2017. Today, in particular, gives fans a glimpse of what to expect as Major League Baseball released the schedule for the 2017 season.
The Pirates are scheduled to open up the 2017 campaign on the road in a ballpark they haven’t played in since 2005: Fenway Park. The Pirates will travel to take on the Boston Red Sox in a three-game interleague series.
The series will be highly anticipated as it will be a tough test for the Pirates right out of the gate, facing young Red Sox stars such as Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. It will be the first series for the Sox in the post-David Ortiz era.
The series will start with Boston’s home opener on April 3 and will be followed by a day off before the remaining two games are played on April 5 and 6.
The Pirates will play their home opener at PNC Park on April 7 as they begin a three-game weekend set with the Atlanta Braves. The series marks the first time since 1998 that the Pirates will open the season at home against the Braves. Later in the season, the Pirates will also take on Atlanta for the first time on the road at new SunTrust Park from May 22-25.
Following the home opening series with the Braves, the Bucs get their first glimpse of NL Central action when they take on the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game set from April 10-12 at PNC Park.
The Bucs then have two consecutive three-game division road series against the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, spanning from April 14-19.
The Pirates will close out the month of April with a three-game home series against the Cubs and a three-game road set at Marlins Park against the Miami Marlins.
The Red Sox aren’t the only AL East team on the Pirates’ schedule this season; they’ll take on the New York Yankees in a weekend series at PNC Park from April 21-23. It’ll be the Yankees’ first trip to Pittsburgh since 2008.
The Pirates will do battle with each of the other three AL East teams this season as well. Pittsburgh will take on Manny Machado and the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in a short two-game series on June 6 and 7. The Orioles then travel to PNC Park for another two-game set on Sept. 26 and 27.
Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays will head to PNC Park for a three-game series from June 27-29, while the Pirates will travel to Toronto to take on former Pirate Russell Martin and the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre from Aug. 11-13.
While the AL East teams dominate the Pirates’ interleague matchups, they’re also scheduled to face the Detroit Tigers in a four-game home-and-home series at PNC Park and Comerica Park from Aug. 7-10.
Pittsburgh will end its 2017 season on the road against the Washington Nationals in a four-game series that spans from Sept. 28-Oct.1.
Image credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
