Interleague Play bookends Tigers' 2016 schedule

DETROIT -- For the first time in their history, the Tigers will both open and close their season with Interleague Play. Major League Baseball on Tuesday released its tentative 2016 schedule, with the Tigers on the road at Miami for Opening Day and at Atlanta at season's end for what is expected to be the final regular-season game at Turner Field.

The Tigers' schedule also includes a home-and-home Interleague series with the Pirates from April 11-14, starting in Detroit and ending in Pittsburgh; a three-game series against the Nationals from May 9-11 as part of a Washington-Baltimore road trip; and home series against the Phillies from May 23-25, the Marlins from June 28-29, and the Mets from Aug. 5-7.

• Tentative 2016 Tigers schedule

In essence, the Tigers and Marlins have a home-and-home series with the two-game series split 2 1/2 months apart. Detroit gets to stay in Florida at the end of Spring Training and travel from Lakeland to Miami, where they'll open the season on Tuesday, April 5 -- one day after the traditional Opening Day.

The Tigers play a two-game set at Marlins Park before getting another off-day. Their home opener is scheduled for Friday, April 8, against the Yankees in a 1:08 p.m. ET start, opening a five-game homestand that includes the Pirates. From there, the Tigers hit the road to Pittsburgh, Houston and Kansas City for what's shaping up as an eight-game road trip against three likely postseason teams, closing with a three-game series against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium April 19-21.

The Tigers and Royals are scheduled to play just seven games before the All-Star break, all in Kansas City, including a four-game series June 16-19 at the end of a 10-game, three-city trip. Detroit finally welcomes the Royals to town coming out of the All-Star break July 15-17, then brings them to town again Aug. 15-17. They'll meet six times in the final month, Sept. 2-4 in Kansas City, then Sept. 23-25 at Comerica Park.

The Tigers close their home schedule with a four-game series against the Indians from Sept. 26-29. From there, they'll head to Atlanta, where they'll close the regular season with three games against the Braves at the soon-to-be-vacated Turner Field. It'll be the second time in four years that the Tigers have closed the regular season in a National League park; they finished the 2013 schedule against the Marlins in Miami, culminating in a Henderson Alvarez no-hitter.

The Boston Red Sox, under new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, will make their annual trip to Comerica Park from Aug. 18-21.

The Tigers will have schedules available at Comerica Park beginning Sept. 21. The first 10,000 fans through the gates on Saturday, Sept. 26, for the Tigers-Twins game will receive a free 2016 magnet schedule.