KANSAS CITY, MO — In conjunction with Major League Baseball, the Kansas City Royals today announced their 2013 regular season schedule. Opening Day is scheduled for Monday, April 1 when the Royals visit the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. It marks the seventh time in franchise history that the Royals have opened against the White Sox (1972, 1976, 1987, 2003, 2004 and 2009), the third time in Chicago (’76 and ’09). Kansas City will begin the home schedule on April 8 vs. Minnesota. All game times will be announced at a later date.
2013 will mark the first season that each league will consist of 15 teams with the Houston Astros joining the American League West. The Royals and every other Major League club will play 19 games against each divisional opponent, consisting of 76 division games total.
Kansas City will play 20 Interleague contests played over eight series, four home and four on the road. The Royals will compete against their "prime rival”, the St. Louis Cardinals, in back-to-back two-game series spanning both cities from May 27-30, with the Cardinals visiting Kansas City on May 27-28 and the Royals returning the strip on May 29-30. The club also will host Interleague matchups against Atlanta (June 25-26), Miami (August 12-14) and Washington (August 23-25). The visit to Kansas City will be the first in franchise history for the Braves. The Nationals franchise played in Kansas City in 2004 as the Montreal Expos. The road Interleague schedule also consists of visits to Philadelphia (April 5-7), Atlanta (April 16-17) and the club’s first-ever trip to Citi Field, home of the New York Mets (August 2-4).
Kansas City's holiday schedule sees the Royals at home on Mother’s Day vs. the Yankees (May 12), Memorial Day vs. St. Louis (May 27), July 4th vs. Cleveland and on Labor Day vs. Seattle (September 2); and on the road at the Rays on Father’s Day (June 16).
The month-by-month home game totals are: April – 11; May – 14; June – 14; July – 13; August – 16; September – 13. The Royals will host a pair of 10-game homestands, first from April 26 to May 5 and again from August 5-14. The club’s longest road trips are a pair of nine-game journeys from May 13-22 and July 26-August 4.
