All 30 Major League teams released their 2020 schedules on Monday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Pirates will open up their season on March 26th this year. The home opener will be one week later. Here are some highlights from the schedule:
The Pirates won’t have to travel far for Opening Day. They will head from Bradenton to Tampa for three games, with the opener on March 26th. There could be an “on deck” series like the Pirates did this year in Houston before the opener, and Philadelphia a few times in the past, but you would assume that they would skip that this year with the first game being right down the road from Spring Training. Maybe they will play 1-2 games in Bradenton against their minor league players instead.
After three games versus the Rays, the Pirates will head to Chicago for three against the Cubs, which should be pleasant weather in March.
The home opener will be against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, April 2nd. After an off-day on the 3rd, they will play two more against the Reds, then host the Cubs for four games. That’s followed by an unusual road trip that goes to Baltimore first, followed by the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. The Brewers and Dodgers will then visit PNC Park, getting all six games with the Dodgers out of the way in the first four weeks of the season.
The Pirates visit the Yankees for two games in early May. They host the Phillies, Cardinals, Giants and Cubs during the month.
The Yankees then come to PNC Park in mid-June, followed by three games against the Blue Jays.
The Red Sox will be in town on July 4th weekend for three games. The All-Star game is on July 14th.
July ends/August starts with a ten-game homestand against the Cardinals, Brewers and Diamondbacks. The Detroit Tigers visit for two games in mid-August, then the Pirates go there in early September, wrapping up the interleague schedule.
The season ends with a six-game homestand featuring the Cubs and Reds, with the finale taking place on September 27th. So the Pirates play their first six and last six games at home against the Reds/Cubs, then see them just once each in the sixth months in between. Neither division rivals will be at PNC Park during a 111-day stretch from June 3- September 21.
