Orioles begin 2022 season at home vs. Blue Jays

As long as Major League Baseball doesn't experience another work stoppage, the Orioles will be opening the 2022 season at home on Thursday, March 31 against the Blue Jays.

The league released schedules for all 30 teams this afternoon.

The three-game series will be followed by the first road trip, beginning April 4 in Boston and continuing in St. Petersburg, Fla. for a heavy early dose of division opponents.

The first West Coast trek also is in April, with a four-game series in Oakland and a three-game set in Anaheim. The trip concludes in New York before the Orioles host the Red Sox, Twins and Royals in the longest homestand of the season with 10 games in succession.

They're also home for 10 days in September with nine games played against the Athletics, Blue Jays and Red Sox.

Only 10 home games are sprinkled into April, but 16 are found in May and September.

The final homestand brings the Tigers and Astros to Camden Yards Sept. 19-25. The season concludes with three games in Boston and three in New York, the last played on Oct. 2.

The interleague schedule pits the Orioles against the National League Central for the first time since 2017.

The Orioles will play in St. Louis on May 10-12 for the first time since 2003 and the first time ever at the newer version of Busch Stadium.

Other stops in the NL Central include Cincinnati on July 29-31 and Chicago's Wrigley Field on July 12-13 - the first trip to the North Side since 2014. The Orioles are hosting the Brewers April 11-13, the first matchup between the teams in Baltimore since 2003. The Cubs are in Baltimore June 7-8 and the Pirates August 5-7.

The Nationals are at Camden Yards July 21-22 and the Orioles play in D.C. Sept. 13-14.

The Orioles host 14 weekend series for only the second time in Camden Yards history. The home slate includes holiday games on Easter Sunday versus the Yankees, Mother's Day versus the Royals, Father's Day against the Rays, Fourth of July versus the Rangers and Labor Day versus the Blue Jays.

The 2022 season marks the first home game on Independence Day since 2008.