CINCINNATI – The Reds’ 2018 Opening Day will be the earliest ever.
The Reds will host the Washington Nationals at 4:10 p.m. on Thursday, March 29 – three days before Easter - according to next season’s schedule.
SEE 2018 Reds schedule with game times.
The early date is the result of a new scheduling format that adds a week to the season and gives teams three to four additional off days, according to MLB. All teams will open on March 29 and end Sept. 30.
The previous earliest Reds' Opening Day was March 31 in 1998, 2003, 2008, 2011 and 2014. The Nationals have never played here on Opening Day, though their predecessors, the Montreal Expos, opened here in 1970, '87, '93 and '96.
SEE dates and results of Reds' Opening Days.
The Reds will play the AL Central in interleague play. They have home games against the Tigers (June 19-20), White Sox (July 2-3-4), Royals (Sept. 25-26) and Indians (Aug. 13-14-15) and away games against the Twins (April 27-28-29), Tigers (July 31-Aug. 1), Royals (June 12-13) and Indians (July 9-10-11).
