The Angels will open the 2026 season in Houston, marking the eighth time since 2017 that the Angels have played their first game of the season on the road.
Major League Baseball released the full 2026 schedule Tuesday, with an Opening Day set for March 26.
The Angels opened at home in 2021 and 2022, the latter because the lockout delayed the originally scheduled start of the season. Otherwise, they will have played their first game on the road in eight of 10 seasons.
Each team has some input on the schedule by submitting their preferences to MLB, and the Angels general preference has been to finish at home, which has often led to them opening on the road. There isn’t a pure correlation, though, because in 2026 the Angels finish on the road also. They finished at home in 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024 and they will finish at home in 2025.
The Angels’ schedule is also impacted by the Dodgers schedule, because MLB prefers not to have the teams in the same market have overlapping homestands. The Dodgers prefer to be at home on April 15, which is Jackie Robinson Day. That’s usually in the third week of the season, so the Dodgers would tend to be at home in the first and third weeks.
Ultimately, MLB has the final call, regardless of a team’s preference, though.
As for 2026, the Angels begin their home schedule on April 3, with the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. The Angels also finish on the road next season, with four games in Seattle from Sept. 24-27.
The Angels host the Dodgers from May 15-17, a weekend series at the start of a 10-game homestand. They play at Dodger Stadium from June 5-7.