Cards announce schedule, will open 2010 in Cincinnati

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals will open the 2010 season at 12:10 p.m. April 5 in Cincinnati and will play their first home game at 3:15 p.m. on April 12 against Houston.

The Cardinals on Tuesday released their schedule along with every other team in the major leagues. St. Louis will not face the Chicago Cubs until a three-game series on Memorial Day weekend in Chicago (May 28-30), and the Cubs will not come to Busch Stadium until a weekend series Aug. 13-15.

The longtime rivals will meet nine times in the final two months of the season. The other two series will be Sept. 13-15 in St. Louis and Sept. 24-26 in Chicago. The Cardinals also play in Chicago on July 23-25.

The Cardinals will play interleague series at Busch Stadium against the Los Angeles Angels (May 21-23), Seattle (June 15-17) and Oakland (June 18-20). Interleague series on the road will be against Toronto (June 22-24) and Kansas City (June 25-27).

St. Louis will play 17 home games in September and October. It closes the season with a seven-game homestand against Pittsburgh and Colorado on Sept. 27-Oct. 3.