Cleveland Indians: Taking a look at the 2018 schedule

MLB has released the 2018 regular season schedule, so we take a look at some of the key matchups for the Cleveland Indians next year.

The 2017 regular season is coming to a close in a few weeks. This triggered the release of the full 2018 MLB regular season schedule.

The Indians have their next 162-game gauntlet on paper now, and the schedule features some interesting opponents and a very special game for some players on the team.

We will start with the special game. This will actually be a two-game series against the Minnesota Twins in San Juan, Puerto Rico in mid-April.

This is special to the Puerto Rican players on the Indians and Twins. Francisco Lindor is extremely excited for the series already because he is one of those players.

The series will be the first played there in a MLB regular season since 2010. Lindor played for the Puerto Rican team in the World Baseball Classic this past summer.

As far as the rest of the schedule goes, the Indians have a few interesting opponents in 2018. Aside from their division and the rest of the American League, the Indians have five interleague series next season.

The National League opponent that stands out the most is the Chicago Cubs. Barring a World Series rematch, the home-and-home series is a big one because it will be the first time the two clubs see each other since last October’s thrilling Fall Classic.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

The Indians will face the Cubs in Cleveland for two games in late-April and then travel to Wrigley a month later at the end of May. The teams will likely look much different from the two that faced off last October but both will still be competitive clubs.

The Indians’ four other NL opponents will be the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Milwaukee Brewers. They will have a four-game home-and-home series against the Brewers, three games in St. Louis and three at home against Pittsburgh.

For whatever reason, gone from the schedule is the four game home-and-home with Cincinnati. Because of this , they will face the Reds six times, three each at their respective parks.

Because we love the division so much, the team will see 16 of their 29 September games against AL Central opponents. The Tribe has the preparation and build for divisional dominance and because of this the last two months of the season will be fun.

Next: Depth challenged with Zimmer out

The 2018 season is light years away it seems but it is still fun looking at the Indians schedule for next year. Keep enjoying this 2017 run the Indians are on and lock it on Believeland Ball for all the best Indians content.