By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
The opening day slate for the Central League’s 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball regular season was announced by the league on Tuesday, along with with the interleague schedule.
The Pacific League has yet to announce their schedule for the 2024 season. Times have yet to be announced for the Central League and Interleague games.
The Central League will open on Friday, March 29, with each team having a three-game series through Sunday, March 31. The Yomiuri Giants will open up on the road at Koshien Stadium against the 2023 Japan Series champion Hanshin Tigers. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows will travel to Nagoya, Japan, to take on the Chunichi Dragons at the Vantelin Dome. The Yokohama DeNA Baystars will start the season on the road against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.
Interleague games will not start until May 28 and continue through June 16. Rainouts could also change game dates during the course of the 2024 regular season.
All six Central League teams will travel to the six Pacific League stadiums on May 28 for the first set of interleague games.
On May 28, the Yomiuri Giants will play the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on the road at the Fukuoka PayPay Dome. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows will travel to the ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, Japan to take on the Chiba Lotte Marines.
The Yokohama DeNA Baystars will go to Sendai, Japan to play the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, while the Chunichi Dragons will play the Saitama Seibu Lions at the Belluna Dome.
The Hanshin Tigers will play the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at Es Con Field, and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp will play the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka, Japan at the Kyocera Dome.
No dates have been announced yet for neutral site games, playoff dates, or the two NPB All-Star Games which will be scheduled for late July during the 2024 regular season.