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2012 Washington Nationals Schedule Released, Team Opens At Wrigley Field Vs. Cubs

The Nationals will also face all the teams in the AL East in interleague play while the Battle of the Beltways against the Baltimore Orioles kicks off in May at Nationals Park.

By Andrew Kinback
Getty Images

The Washington Nationals released their 2012 Schedule on Wednesday morning which shows the team will start the 2012 campaign on the road against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 5th and have their Home Opener at Nationals Park against the Cincinnati Reds on April 12th.

The team is scheduled to play 81 home games in 2012, with NL East rivals coming to town for three visits apiece. The Nationals will close out the 2012 campaign with a home series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Other mentionable highlights of the schedule:

  • The Nationals will face each of the AL East teams in Interleague Play in 2012. The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays will visit Nationals Park while the Nationals will travel to play the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
  • The Nats and the Baltimore Orioles will kick off the 'Battle of the Beltways' on May 18-20th at Nationals Park. There will be a six meetings between the two interleague rivals with the Nationals visiting Baltimore for three games June 22-24th.
  • The New York Mets will be hosting the Nationals on Sept. 11, 2012.
  • The Nationals will be facing the San Francisco Giants on the Fourth of July and the Cubs on Labor Day weekend.

July and August contain the most home games at 13 apiece while April contains the fewest (only 11) which means the Nationals need to get off to a strong start to keep pace. The Nats will also have a challenging end to their season so it doesn't look like the schedule is going to make things any easier for the Nationals who look to stake claim in the NL East.