AROUND THE HORN

MLB: The Cubs will play the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, the only interleague matchup on Major League Baseball’s traditional opening day on March 28 in the second season of the balanced schedule. MLB released its 2024 schedule Thursday, seven weeks earlier than the 2023 announcement. All 30 teams are slated to play on March 28, a week after the Dodgers and Padres meet in a two-game series March 20 and 21 in Seoul, MLB’s first regular-season games in South Korea. AL openers include the Angels at Orioles, Tigers at White Sox, Yankees at Astros, Twins at Royals, Guardians at A’s, Red Sox at Mariners and Blue Jays at Rays. NL games on March 28 have the Rockies at Diamondbacks, Nationals at Reds, Cardinals at Dodgers, Pirates at Marlins, Brewers at Mets, Braves at Phillies and Giants at Padres. This season marked the first time since 1968 that every team played on opening day. Next year’s regular start on March 28 matches 2019 as the earliest opening day, not including international games. Games outside the U.S. and Canada include the Astros and Rockies on April 27 and 28 in Mexico City, and the Mets and Phillies on June 8 and 9 in London. The Cardinals and Giants are scheduled to play at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 20 in a tribute to the Negro Leagues and Willie Mays. The All-Star Game is July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The regular season is scheduled to end on Sept. 29.

Athletics: The A’s have started the process of applying to MLB to move to Las Vegas. MLB last month established a relocation committee to evaluate the move, a group headed by Brewers chairman Mark Attanasio. Phillies CEO John Middleton and Royals CEO John Sherman also are on the committee. “They have begun to submit information related to their relocation application,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “It’s not complete at this point.” Nevada’s Legislature recently approved providing $380 million in public financing for a proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof on the Tropicana hotel site of the Las Vegas Strip. The new venue would be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the newly-crowned Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights started play in 2017 as an expansion team. An A’s move would have to be approved by at least 75% of the 30 major league teams. The team’s lease at the Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. It remains unclear where the team would play until a new ballpark opens in Las Vegas.

„ Extra innings: Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez will begin a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A Sugar Land. Alvarez, 26, landed on the IL on June 9 with right oblique discomfort. After nearly a month out, Alvarez began taking swings in a batting cage and going through outfield drills last week ahead of the All-Star break. Alvarez, the 2019 AL rookie of the year, is hitting .277 with 17 HRs, 12 doubles and 55 RBIs in 57 games this season . ... The All-Star Game drew a record low in viewers for the second straight year. The NL’s 3-2 win over the AL on Tuesday night in Seattle was seen by 7,006,000 viewers on Fox, down from 7.51 million last year. The game drew a 3.9 rating, down from a 4.2 last year, and a 12 share, the same as for the AL’s 3-2 victory last year in Los Angeles. The Home Run Derby on Monday night drew 6.11 million viewers on ESPN, down 11% from 6.88 million last year in 2022.