Circle these key dates from the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2023 schedule

Let’s take a look at some key dates on the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2023 schedule

The St. Louis Cardinals‘ 2023 schedule is available, and it shares a new twist with that of every other MLB team.  Every franchise plays every other one at least three games, with the bulk of these new interleague games being taken away from intradivision matchups.

Like it or not, the fact that all teams are competing for three Wild Card spots is leading to a more balance schedule, so squads in tougher divisions are at less of a disadvantage compared to team in softer divisions. Yes, this will be to the Cardinals’ detriment since the Pirates, Reds, and Cubs don’t seem particularly interested in competing next season, but it’s more fair overall.

St. Louis kicks off the 2023 campaign at home on March 30, hosting the Toronto Blue Jays, before the Atlanta Braves come to town. The Redbirds’ first road trip begins with a stop in Milwaukee to face off against the team that is expected to be their primary competition for the National League Central next season, the Brewers.

The end of April features a lengthy West Coast road trip, with 10 games total in against the Mariners, Giants, and Dodgers. That western excursion also represents the Cardinals’ longest period of time away from home all season.

May highlights include back-to-back visits to the two oldest ballparks in the majors. The season’s first series against the Cubs, a three-game set in Wrigley Field, is on May 8-10, and it’s followed by a weekend at Boston’s Fenway Park May 12-14 against the Red Sox.

The St Louis Cardinals visit London June 24-25

The biggest event in June is a sojourn across the pond, as the Cardinals and Cubs travel to London Stadium for a two-game set in the United Kingdom’s capital city on June 24-25. Fortunately for both squads, they get the preceding Thursday and Friday and following Monday off to attempt to recover from their trip six time zones east of their homes.

The first two days of July actually are the second and third dates the Cardinals host the Bronx Bombers as part of a weekend set. At least one St. Louis representative – and most likely more – will spend a few days in Seattle for the All-Start game on July 11. And the last two weekends of the month feature a pair of four-game, Thursday-Sunday series against the Cubbies.  The first showdown is in Chicago, while the second matchup is in the Gateway City.

August is rather mundane, though there is one unusual twist. The Cardinals’ “natural rival” is the Kansas City Royals, and the new schedule has the teams playing a pair of two-game series throughout the season.  St. Louis plays host at the end of May (creating an odd two-day break on May 31 and June 1), while the second pair of games is in KC Aug. 11-12, leading to a rare Sunday off day for both teams on Aug. 13.

September features the Cards’ second-longest road trip as they travel east to visit Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Baltimore for a total of nine contests. There are seven games against the Brewers spread over two mid-week series during the final two weeks before the season wraps up at home with a weekend series hosting the Reds on Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

It’s really early to be talking about another division crown next season when this year still has over a month of games to go, but it’s a safe bet the Cardinals will be competitive in the NL Central, as they nearly always are.