Chicago Cubs release tentative 2018 schedule; team opens in Miami

The Chicago Cubs released a tentative 2018 regular season schedule Tuesday. The club opens on the road in Miami against the Marlins on March 29.

For the first time in more than 50 years, Major League Baseball will open a full-slate of games on Opening Day. On March 29, the Chicago Cubs open up the 2018 slate of action on the road in South Beach against the Miami Marlins.

According to MLB.com, this marks the 13th time in the last 17 campaigns Chicago opens the year on the road. Wrigley Field plays host to the home opener on April 9 in a matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Instead of the four-game Crosstown Cup series we saw in 2017, that reverts back to a six-game format. The first three coming in May and the latter trio in September at Guaranteed Rate Field. This fits into the larger trend of the schedule, as well. Chicago’s interleague matchups will come from the American League Central.

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Why does that matter?

Because, barring another World Series matchup, a May 22-23 matchup against the Cleveland Indians marks the first time the two teams will meet up since Game 7 of last year’s Fall Classic. This will undoubtedly be one of the most popular games at the Friendly Confines in 2018.

Of course, we all know how that went. But with Cleveland on one of the longest winning streaks in baseball history, neither team shows signs of losing that fighting edge anytime soon. (Despite what a good many Cubs fans seem to think).

Chicago will have baseball at home on Mother’s Day and the Fourth of July. One of my personal favorite memories at Wrigley came last year on Mother’s Day. Donning a pink bat, Javier Baez blasted an extra-inning home run, capping my first suite experience. And, boy, what an afternoon it was.

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For now, though, the Cubs have their hands full. They hold a slim two-game lead over St. Louis and 2 1/2-game edge over the Brewers in the division entering Tuesday’s opener against the Mets. Let’s just focus on this year first – and then we can get excited about the regular season calendar opening in late March.