On Thursday, MLB released their 2021 team schedules. What will be on the docket for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2021 season?
While the 2020 MLB season will be unlike any other due to the coornavirus pandemic, the hope is that MLB will be back on track for a normal 162 game season in 2021. In advance of this, MLB released their 2021 schedule on Thursday. So, we now know who the Pittsburgh Pirates will play in 2021 and when.
As of now, the plan is for the Pittsburgh Pirates to open up the 2021 season in a familiar road city. The Bucs are scheduled to kick off the 2021 season on April 1 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. A week later, following a three-game set at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, the Pirates will host the Cubs in their 2021 home opener on April 8.
That April 8 game should create a fun atmosphere at PNC Park and on the North Shore. Odds are, this will be the next time the Pittsburgh Pirates play in front of fans at PNC Park. At that point it will be 18 months since the last time the Bucs played in front of their fans at home, so it will be a day that fans will have long awaited.
The 2021 season will wrap up with the Pirates having a six-game home stand. This six-game stretch will be against the same two teams they open the season up against, the Cubs and the Reds. Pittsburgh’s 2021 regular season will conclude when they host the Reds at PNC Park on Sunday, October 3.
As for Interleague play, for a second consecutive season the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of the National League Central will play against the American League Central. In April, the team will have a six-game road trip against the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins. They will also have a two-game home series against the Kansas City Royals in April.
The Pirates will play their two-game set at Kansas City on May 30 and June 1. June will also feature a two-game set at home against the Chicago White Sox. They will not play an Interleague game again until they play the White Sox in Chicago on August 31 and September 1. They will wrap up interleague play with a three-game series against the Tigers at PNC Park September 6 – 8.
You can check out the complete 2021 schedule for the Pittsburgh Pirates here.