Mariners to open at Astros; home opener July 31
Greg Johns
@gregjohnsmlbSEATTLE -- The season may be shorter this year, but it won¡¯t be an easy road for the Mariners, as they¡¯ll open their 2020 schedule with a four-game series in Houston against the defending American League champion Astros starting on Friday, July 24, at 6:10 p.m. PT on MLB Network.
Major League Baseball released its new 60-game schedule on Monday and the Mariners will play 10 games against each of their AL West rivals, plus 20 games combined against National League West clubs (six vs. the Padres, four against the Dodgers and Giants and three each against the Rockies and D-backs).
The Mariners¡¯ home opener will be Friday, July 31 against the A¡¯s in a 6:40 p.m. game that kicks off a 10-game homestand at T-Mobile Park.
At this point, no fans will be allowed at games at T-Mobile Park and the majority of home games will start at 6:10 p.m. or 6:40 p.m. PT instead of the typical 7:10 p.m. start time. A few weekday games will start earlier to accommodate travel for visiting teams and all Sunday home games are at 1:10 p.m.
The Mariners were 0-10 against the Astros at Minute Maid Park last season and 1-18 overall against the three-time defending AL West champs, so Seattle will look to turn that trend around when it opens the shortened season. A three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels concludes the Mariners' opening road trip.
Seattle will host the A¡¯s, Angels and Rockies in its opening homestand, which includes three afternoon games.
The entire 60-game schedule is against teams in the West divisions as MLB divided its 30 teams into three regions -- along with the Central and East -- to reduce travel as the nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic that forced cancelation of the first 3 1/2 months of the season.
The Mariners play two three-game series -- at home and on the road -- against the Padres and two-game home-and-road series against the Giants and Dodgers, as well as three home games against the Rockies and three road games against the D-backs.
The designated hitter will be used in Interleague games at NL parks for the first time this year in one of the rule changes for the shortened season. The other significant change is that all extra-inning games will begin with a designated runner on second base to start each half inning after the ninth. Additionally, relievers must face at least three batters or finish an inning before they can be replaced.
All Mariners games will be televised on ROOT Sports and broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network.