MLB announces tweaks to 2016 opening day schedule

Opening day is getting a bit of a makeover.

MLB announced Thursday that there will be three games on the schedule to get the 2016 regular season going on Sunday, April 3.

A divisional matchup pitting the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Pirates is the first game on the docket, which will be followed by the Toronto Blue Jays visiting the Tampa Bay Rays. The nightcap is a World Series rematch between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals.

The rest of the league will take the field Monday, April 4 for the traditional opening day slate, four games which will be available nationally on ESPN or ESPN2.

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In the past the first Sunday had been reserved for one night game – this year it was the Cardinals taking on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field – but three games will sure do the trick, too.

MLB also confirmed they will continue to start every game at the same time on the season's final day, with the games on Sunday, Oct. 2 set to begin at 3 p.m. ET.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr