MLB announces game times for 2013 regular season schedule

Major League Baseball today announced the game times for its master 2013 regular season schedule, which will begin on March 31st with ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" when the Houston Astros host the Texas Rangers at 8:00 p.m. (ET) / 7:00 p.m. (CT).  The final day of the 2013 regular season, which features 11 divisional match-ups, is scheduled for Sunday, September 29th.

Opening Night in Houston between the Astros and Rangers marks the first-ever game for the Astros as an American League Club and it begins ESPN's 24th season televising Major League Baseball.  Twelve games will be played on Monday, April 1st, when traditional Opening Day returns to a Monday for the first time since 2010 (the 2011 season opened on a Thursday, while 2012 began with one game on a Wednesday night and traditional Opening Day on a Thursday).  The first full slate of 15 games will be played on Wednesday, April 3rd.

ESPN will continue its coverage of Opening Week presented by Budweiser with four games on Monday, April 1st, which feature the winners of the past seven World Series.  Opening Day coverage on ESPN begins at 1:00 p.m (ET) as the Boston Red Sox visit the New York Yankees, followed by the San Francisco Giants at the Los Angeles Dodgers at 4:00 p.m. (ET)/1:00 p.m. (PT).  At 7:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2, the Philadelphia Phillies will visit the Atlanta Braves, followed by the St. Louis Cardinals at the Arizona Diamondbacks at 10:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (PT).

MLB Network will have extensive coverage of Opening Week, featuring the return of its regular season programming lineup of The Rundown, Intentional Talk, MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch with look-ins at live games in progress, previews, highlights and analysis.  MLB Network's Showcase Game schedule will begin on Tuesday, April 2nd with the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants at 10:10 p.m. (ET) / 7:10 p.m. (PT).

Among the other highlights of the 2013 regular season:

- The Cincinnati Reds open their season against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Great American Ball Park on Monday, April 1st at 4:10 p.m (ET), marking the start of the 17th season of Interleague Play, and the first to feature Interleague contests for the duration of the season.
- The San Francisco Giants square off against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park in their home opener on Friday, April 5th at 4:35 p.m. (ET) / 1:35 p.m. (PT) in a rematch of the 2012 National League Championship Series.
- The Detroit Tigers open a three-game series against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park on Friday, April 5th at 1:05 p.m. (ET) as the clubs see one another again after the 2012 American League Championship Series.
- The Dodgers will host the Padres at Dodger Stadium at 10:10 p.m. (ET) / 7:10 p.m. (PT) on Monday, April 15th, which is designated as Jackie Robinson Day throughout Major League Baseball.
- Interleague series featuring prime rivals will have back-to-back two-game series beginning on Monday, May 27th (Memorial Day), with the host club shifting on Wednesday, May 29th.  The match-ups include: Nationals-Orioles; Mets-Yankees; Marlins-Rays; Reds-Indians; Cubs-White Sox; Cardinals-Royals; Angels-Dodgers; Giants-Athletics; Phillies-Red Sox; Braves-Blue Jays; Tigers-Pirates; Brewers-Twins; Rockies-Astros; Rangers-Diamondbacks; and Padres-Mariners.
- The 2013 All-Star Game, to be hosted by the New York Mets, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 16th at Citi Field.