Dodgers open 2018 schedule at home vs. Giants

LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball unveiled the preliminary 2018 scheduled on Tuesday, and the Dodgers will open and close next season against the rival Giants.

Opening day will be at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, March 29, the start of the four-game series against the Giants. Next season opens on a Thursday instead of Monday because the new collective bargaining agreement calls for a 187-day regular season instead of 183, with more off days and rest time built in.

The Dodgers last opened their season against the Giants at home in 2013.

Jackie Robinson Day will feature the Dodgers at home against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers are also home on Memorial Day (vs. Phillies), July 4 (vs. Pirates), and Labor Day (vs. Mets).

The National League West plays the American League West in interleague play in 2018, which means a pair of three-game series against the Angels. Here is the Dodgers’ interleague slate next year:

• Apr. 10-11 vs. A’s at home, Aug. 7-8 at A’s
• June 12-13 vs. Rangers at home, Aug. 28-29 at Rangers
• July 6-8 at Angels, July 13-15 vs. Angels at home
• Aug. 3-5 vs. Astros at home
• Aug. 17-19 at Mariners

The Dodgers’ visit to Seattle is their first since 2012.

The Dodgers have a 10-game homestand from May 21-31 against the Rockies, Padres and Phillies. There are two 10-game road trips — July 20-29 at Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Atlanta; and Sept. 7-16 at Denver, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

The 2018 All-Star Game is Tuesday, July 17 at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

The season ends on Sunday, Sept. 30 with the end of a three-game series in San Francisco. That ends a six-game, season-ending road trip that also sees the Dodgers travel to play the Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

The MLB season ends with all teams playing at noon PT on the final day.