Nats starting times released, April begins with matinee against Marlins

Major League Baseball released the Nationals' 2013 start times this week. The home opener is April 1 at 1:05 p.m. against the Miami Marlins. That series includes a 7:05 p.m. start on April 3 and a getaway day start at 4:05 p.m. on April 4. The White Sox arrive the next week from April 9-11 for three 7:05 p.m. starts. Then the homestand continues with the first big test, against the Atlanta Braves from April 12-14. The three games in the Braves weekend series begin at 7:05 p.m., 1:05 p.m. and 1:35 p.m., respectively. Later in the month, 2012 postseason opponent St. Louis arrives at Nationals Park for a three-game set April 22-24. The Monday and Tuesday match-ups begin at 7:05 p.m. Then on April 24 and April 25, the Nationals play back-to-back midweek games that begin at 1:05 p.m., wrapping up their series with the Cardinals and then starting a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. In April, the Nationals face the Reds, Marlins, Mets and Braves on the road, in that order. May highlights include the Tigers and Cubs at home early in the month. That is followed by a long West Coast trip to face the Dodgers, Padres and Giants. The Phillies make their first appearance of 2013 at Nationals Park from May 24-26. The month of May wraps up with four games against the Orioles, two at home May 27-28 and two on the road May 29-30. The Memorial Day game on May 27 is a 1:05 pm start. The month is sandwiched between a pair of critical series on the road against the Braves, April 29-May 2 and then May 31-June 2. Next we will look at June and July schedule start times.