Mets to open 2016 season on Sunday night in KC

NEW YORK -- The Mets won't have to wait long for their World Series rematch.

ESPN announced Thursday that the Mets' first game of the 2016 season has been pushed up to primetime on "Sunday Night Baseball." The Mets and Royals will play Sunday, April 3, at 8:35 p.m. ET in Kansas City, then again on Tuesday, April 5. The Mets will have two consecutive off-days after that, returning to Citi Field for their home opener April 8 against the Phillies.

The game is one of three that ESPN is broadcasting that Sunday. The Cardinals and Pirates will open the 2016 season at 1:05 p.m., followed by the Blue Jays and Rays at 4:05.

All eyes, of course, will be on the Mets-Royals nightcap, a rematch of the 2015 World Series that Kansas City won in five games. Prior to that, the Mets had played a series at Kauffman Stadium only once, way back in 2004. Now they will travel there twice in less than six months.