Oakland A’s will open 2019 season in Japan

The Oakland A’s will open the 2019 season in Tokyo, Japan, the team announced Tuesday. They’ll play two games against the Mariners, which will count as home games for the A’s. This is the third time Oakland will start the year in Japan (2008, ‘12), and the second time they’ll do so against Seattle. Here is the full press release:

The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will open the 2019 Championship Season with a two-game set on March 20-21 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced today.

”The Oakland Athletics are proud to once again take part in the Japan Opening Series,” said A’s President Dave Kaval. “We are honored to represent Major League Baseball during this special event. Japan has incredible baseball fans and we look forward to returning to Tokyo to help promote our sport.”

The 2019 Japan Opening Series, which will serve as Athletics home games, will represent the fifth time MLB has opened its season in Tokyo. The last Opening Series in Tokyo took place in 2012, when the Athletics and Mariners split the two games.

This marks the third time the A’s have participated in the Japan Opening Series, as the team played host to and split two games with the Boston Red Sox in Tokyo in 2008, and the Seattle Mariners in Tokyo in 2012. The A’s and Mariners were scheduled to open the 2003 season in Japan, but the trip was cancelled the day after the war broke out in Iraq.