ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

For the second consecutive season and third time in four years, the Cardinals will host an American League team to start the season.

The Tampa Bay Rays will visit for opening day on March 26 and stay for a three-game series. There is serendipity to the Rays' visit because the Cardinals' opening day will also be the first for Chaim Bloom as president of baseball operations, and he got his start in Major League Baseball as an intern and later top executive with Tampa Bay.

The Cardinals' first homestand of the 2026 season will also feature the New York Mets for a three-game series.

The Cardinals do not host any major holiday games at Busch Stadium.

The club and Major League Baseball revealed the schedule Thursday.

The Cardinals will play 53 of their 81 home games before the All-Star break and the All-Star Game in Philadelphia to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. After Aug. 1, 2026, they'll have only 21 remaining home games. They conclude the year with a road trip to Pittsburgh and then Milwaukee for the season finale, Sept. 25-27.

The 2026 season will be the third straight that the Cardinals finish on the road.

The Cubs visit St. Louis for a three-game series on May 29-31 and a four-game, weekday set from July 27-30, possibly leading into or including Major League Baseball's trade deadline.

The Cardinals do not have a home game against a division foe in the final month of the regular season.

That and the lack of holiday games at Busch are noteworthy for 2026.

The Cardinals will be on the road for Easter Sunday (in Detroit), Mother's Day (in San Diego), Memorial Day (in Milwaukee), Juneteenth (in Kansas City), Father's Day (in Kansas City) and will spend a second consecutive Fourth of July at Wrigley Field to face the Cubs. 

The Cardinals will host teams for some of MLB's event dates, including a visit from the Guardians on Jackie Robinson Day (April 15) and the Giants coming to town on Roberto Clemente Day (Sept. 15). 

Eight American League teams will visit as part of MLB's balanced schedule, and all of them will be in St. Louis for a three-game series, including the Kansas City Royals. One of the matchups highlighted by Major League Baseball in its announcement of the schedule was the Boston Red Sox visit to Busch Stadium on April 10-12. Other AL teams headed to St. Louis are: the Guardians (April 13-15), the Mariners (April 24-26), the Royals (May 15-17), the Rangers (June 1-3), the Orioles (Aug. 25-27) and the White Sox (Sept. 11-13).

During the Cardinals' June visit to Kansas City, they have a Saturday off-day (June 20) in the middle of a series.

There is a World Cup game scheduled for that Saturday in Kansas City.

After going many years without regularly opening at home due to the team's preference to limit April dates due to weather and school nights, the Cardinals will have opening day at Busch Stadium for the fifth time in seven years.

The Cardinals have two homestands of nine games, and in the final seven weeks of the regular season, they'll have road trips of 10 games and nine games.