Yankees schedule 2021: Season opens with matinee vs. Blue Jays at the Stadium
Unlike last year's home opener, we'll get to see fans at Yankee Stadium after Gov. Cuomo announced venues can be at 10% of capacity. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Yankees are slated to open the 2021 season on April 1 at 1 p.m. at the Stadium against the Blue Jays on ESPN, MLB announced early Thursday afternoon in officially releasing the dates and times for the regular season.
After an off day April 2, the Toronto series will continue April 3 and 4 with a pair of 1 p.m. starts. The Orioles then come to town for a three-game series April 5-7, with each of those games starting at 6:35 p.m.
The Yankees’ first trip follows, featuring a three-game set in St. Petersburg, Florida, against the defending American League champion Rays April 9-11. Then comes a rematch with the Blue Jays April 12-14. Indications are those three games, initially scheduled to be played at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, likely will be played at the Blue Jays’ spring training home in Dunedin, Florida, because of travel protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic put in place by the Canadian government.
Among the highlights from the Yankees’ schedule:
• The Yankees will play the Rays, against whom they went 2-8 last season in falling short of the AL East title, 13 times in their first 55 games.
• The Yankees will open the de facto second half of the season when they host the Red Sox on Thursday, July 15, the only big-league game to be contested that day.
• For the second straight season, the Yankees are scheduled to play the White Sox in MLB’s "Field of Dreams" game in Dyersville, Iowa, this time at 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 12, at the site of the 1989 movie. Last year’s matchup, which would have been the first major-league game ever played in Iowa, was canceled as a result of the pandemic.
• The second Subway Series will take place Sept. 10-12 at Citi Field (the first is July 2-4 at the Stadium) and will mark the first time the New York clubs will play each other on Sept. 11.
