NEW YORK – As we count down the final 31 games of the 2025 season, we now get to look ahead to 2026 knowing when and where the Nationals will play during their 22nd season of baseball in our nation’s capital.
The Nationals, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, announced their 2026 regular season schedule this afternoon, with Opening Day slated to take place on Thursday, March 26, at Wrigley Field against the Cubs. It will be the second time the Nats will open the season on the South Side of Chicago after beating the Cubbies 2-1 to begin the 2012 season.
It will be the ninth time since the Nationals relocated to Washington, D.C., that the team opened a season on the road and just the third time since 2017. It’s also the second time in the last three years the Nats’ first opponent will be from the National League Central after they dropped the 2024 season opener 8-2 in Cincinnati.
The Nationals will then play three games in Philadelphia before coming back to D.C. for an off-day on Thursday, April 2, and the home opener scheduled for Friday, April 3, against the Dodgers. The first homestand will consist of three games against Los Angeles and three against St. Louis.
The 2026 schedule includes two homestands that span over 10 days. The Nats will play nine games against the Pirates, Astros and Yankees over the 10 days leading up to the All-Star break from July 3-12. They will then play 10 consecutive home games from Aug. 24 to Sept. 2, with four coming against the Rockies, four against the Marlins and two against the Braves.
The Nats’ longest road trip of the season is over a 10-day stretch from Aug. 14-23, when they play three games apiece against the Mets, Rangers and Marlins. They only have two other road trips longer than six games: April 10-16, when they play three games against the Brewers and four against the Pirates, and July 30 through Aug. 6, when they play four games each against the Braves and Phillies.
The holiday schedule includes games at Miami on Mother’s Day (May 10), at Cleveland on Memorial Day (May 25), at Tampa Bay on Father’s Day (June 21), vs. Pittsburgh on Independence Day (July 4) and at San Diego on Labor Day (Sept. 7).
The annual Battle of the Beltways series will again take place over weekends, with the Orioles coming to Nationals Park on May 15-17 and the Nats going to Camden Yards on June 26-28.
The Nationals will also visit two teams currently without permanent homes in the 2026 season, traveling to take on the Rays on June 19-21 and the Athletics out of the All-Star break on July 17-19.
The last road trip will consist of three games in St. Louis and three games in Detroit on Sept. 18-23 before the season ends at Nats Park with three games against the Mets on Sept. 25-27.
The full 2026 schedule can be viewed below. Times and networks will be announced at a later date.