Miami Marlins to open 2017 season with heavy early road schedule

The Marlins won’t have to wait to take on two of their biggest National League East rivals next season.

Major League Baseball announced its 2017 schedule Wednesday, and the Marlins are getting things started at the same place they will finish this year’s regular season — Nationals Park.

A six-game road trip starting with three games at Washington, followed by three at the Mets, kicks off a stretch of 12 games to open the season against NL East opponents.

Before Wednesday’s game, the Marlins were 25-34 this season against NL East opponents, with a 5-9 record against Atlanta.

The Marlins will also play 15 of their first 21 games on the road. They embark on a nine-game road trip later in April to Seattle (April 17-19) to face Ichiro Suzuki’s former team, San Diego (April 21-23) and Philadelphia (April 25-27).

The Marlins, who entered Wednesday trailing the Mets by five games with 17 remaining, will play their first 2017 game at Marlins Park on April 11 against the Braves.

The Marlins, who played their final game ever at Turner Field on Wednesday night, will play their first games at the Braves’ new ballpark — SunTrust Park — on June 16-18.

The first homestand against the Braves (April 11-12) and Mets (April 13-16) will come a month after Marlins Park hosts one of the opening rounds of the World Baseball Classic from March 9-12. The pool round in Miami will consist of the United States, the Dominican Republic (2013 WBC champions), Canada and Colombia.

INTERLEAGUE

The Marlins will face teams from the American League West as part of their interleague schedule, as well as their traditional home and away series against the Rays.

In addition to Seattle, their other interleague road trips are to Texas (July 24-26), Oakland (May 23-24) and Tampa Bay (May 3-4).

The Marlins will host the Rays (May 1-2), as well as the A’s (June 13-14), Astros (May 15-17) and Angels (May 26-28).

Fans will get their first chance to see stars such as Mike Trout and Albert Pujols up close as the Angels make their first trip to Marlins Park.

CONTENDERS

The Marlins play seven games each against the Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals and Pirates — all teams that will have either made the playoffs or come close.

They visit Dodger Stadium from May 18-21, Chicago from June 5-7, Pittsburgh from June 8-11 and St. Louis from July 3-6. They’ll host the Pirates from April 28-30, the Cardinals from May 8-10, the Cubs from June 22-25 and the Dodgers from July 14-16.

LONG TRIPS

The longest road trip is a 10-game stretch from June 30-July 9 against the Brewers, Cardinals and Giants that leads into the All-Star break.

The Marlins will host their first All-Star Game July 11 in a season that marks the 20th anniversary of their first World Series championship.

The Marlins’ final road trip is a rare late-season West Coast venture to Arizona on Sept. 22-24, and Colorado on Sept. 25-2… before closing the regular season with four home games against the Braves.

COMING UP

▪ Thursday: Off.

▪ Friday: Marlins RHP Tom Koehler (9-11, 3.97 ERA) at Philadelphia Phillies LHP Adam Morgan (2-10, 5.73 ERA), Citizens Bank Park.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Miami Marlins to open 2017 season with heavy early road schedule."