The Boston Red Sox will be doing plenty of traveling next March and April.
After announcing its World Tour series, which features two Red Sox-Rays spring training games in the Dominican Republic on March 18 and 19, Major League Baseball unveiled its 2024 regular-season schedule on Thursday. The Red Sox won't have to unpack their bags after their trip to the DR as they'll be on the road for a while when the season begins a week later.
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More on that below, plus more initial takeaways from Boston's 2024 regular-season schedule:
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Starting out west
Red Sox fans on the East Coast will have some late nights to start the 2024 regular season. The campaign begins with a 10-game West-Coast slate, starting with a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners. After that, the Red Sox will head to Oakland for three games against the Athletics then wrap up the road trip with three games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
It's a grueling start, but it still probably beats playing at Fenway Park where it's still 40 degrees in late March. Plus, the schedule makers made up for the long trip with a 10-game homestand immediately afterward. Boston will welcome the Baltimore Orioles to Fenway for its home opener on April 9.
Long wait for the rivalry
For the second consecutive year, the Red Sox won't see their archrival until June. Their first series against the New York Yankees in 2024 will come on June 14 at Fenway Park, almost halfway into the season. This is a result of fewer divisional games and more interleague matchups, a change made before the 2023 season. It's a three-game set against the Bronx Bombers, so Fenway will host a Father's Day Red Sox-Yankees showdown on June 16.
Other series against the Yankees will take place July 5-7 at Yankee Stadium, July 26-28 at Fenway, and September 12-15 at Yankee Stadium.
Interleague games at Fenway
The Red Sox will host eight National League teams in 2024: The Chicago Cubs (April 26-28), San Francisco Giants (April 30-May 2), Washington Nationals (May 10-12), Milwaukee Brewers (May 24-26), Atlanta Braves (June 4-5), Philadelphia Phillies (June 11-13), San Diego Padres, (June 28-30), and Arizona Diamondbacks (August 23-25).
As for NL road trips, the Red Sox will visit the Pittsburgh Pirates (April 19-21), Atlanta Braves (May 7-8), St. Louis Cardinals (May 17-19), Cincinnati Reds (June 21-23), Miami Marlins (July 2-4), Los Angeles Dodgers (July 19-21), Colorado Rockies (July 22-24), and New York Mets (September 2-4).
Xander Bogaerts' homecoming
The Padres visiting Fenway for a three-game series from June 28-30 means the Red Sox video team has a tribute montage to make. Xander Bogaerts will take the field in Boston for the first time since Oct. 5, when he tipped his cap to the crowd in what turned out to be his final home game with the club. Despite signing an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres in free agency, the two-time World Series champion should receive a warm welcome back from the Fenway Faithful.
Crucial September stretch
If the Red Sox are still in contention come September 2024, that will be a critical month for the organization. They will have series against all four of their American League East opponents with the Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins mixed in. With so many games against divisional foes, this final month very well could end up making or breaking their 2024 season.
