TORONTO -- The Boston Red Sox are scheduled to begin the 2016 season the same way they will end 2015 -- with a trip to Cleveland.
The Sox are scheduled to play their 2016 season opener on Monday, April 4 in Cleveland, according to a draft of the major league schedule that still requires the approval of the 30 major-league clubs and the Major League Players Association. Some minor adjustments could still be made.
After three games in Cleveland, the Sox will travel to Toronto for three games against the Blue Jays, then return to Fenway Park for their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on April 11. That will be the start of a 10-game homestand against the Orioles, Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, all AL East rivals, with the Blue Jays providing the opposition for the annual Patriots Day matinee on April 18.
In interleague play, the Sox will be playing teams from the National League West, hosting the Colorado Rockies (May 24-26), San Francisco Giants (July 19-20), and Arizona Diamondbacks (Aug. 12-14). They will make trips to play the Giants (June 7-8), Los Angeles Dodgers (Aug. 5-7), and San Diego Padres (Sept. 5-7). They will also have another home-and-home series with the Atlanta Braves, with two games in Atlanta, April 25-26, and two games in Boston, April 27-28.
The Red Sox are scheduled to play the New York Yankees six times in a 10-game span (three games at Fenway April 29-30 and May 1, three games at Yankee Stadium, May 6-8). The Sox begin play after the All-Star break with three games against the Yankees in New York July 15-17, then host them for three games in August (9-11). The teams will play each other twice more in September: a four-game set in Fenway Sept. 15-18, and three more games in New York, Sept. 27-29.
The Sox are scheduled to end the season at home against the Blue Jays Sept. 30, Oct. 1, and Oct. 2.
The Sox will have two three-city trips, both in the season's second half, and both taking them to the West Coast: 11 games in 11 days against the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners and Dodgers July 28-Aug. 7, and 9 games in 10 days against the Oakland Athletics, Padres and Blue Jays Sept. 2-11.
They have four three-team homestands, including the initial April one. The others are 10 games in 10 days against the Orioles, Mariners, and Chicago White Sox June 12-22; nine games in 10 days against the Angels, Texas Rangers and Rays July 1-10; and nine games in nine days against the Giants, Minnesota Twins, and Detroit Tigers July 19-27.