PITTSBURGH - How's this for a never-before-seen Pittsburgh Pirates road trip: three games each against the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

The Pirates open at home for the second straight season by playing the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, April 4, at 1:35 p.m. The Pirates played either late-afternoon or night home openers the last two seasons.

Highlighting the Pirates' 2005 schedule is their first visit to Yankee Stadium since the 1960 World Series to play the Yankees June 14-16.

The Pirates then make their first trip to Boston to play an AL team since the 1903 World Series when they meet the World Series champion Red Sox on June 17-19. The Pirates once were regular visitors to Boston when the Braves played there.

The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays each visit PNC Park for the first time for three-game series, June 6-8 for the Orioles and June 10-12 for Tampa Bay. The Pirates and Orioles haven't met since the 1979 World Series.

The Pirates will again play only 12 interleague games.

Among several curiosities in the Pirates' schedule, the NL champion Cardinals will play only six games in Pittsburgh, including a two-game series April 18-19, but the Pirates play 10 times in St. Louis. Also, Colorado plays seven games in Pittsburgh but the teams meet only three times in Denver.

The yet-to-be named Washington franchise, the former Expos, play in Pittsburgh on June 20-22. A week later, the Pirates play in Washington for the first time since the 1925 World Series.

The Pirates have scheduled more 12:35 p.m. home games - nine, up from four last season, partly because they commonly drew bigger crowds last season for the afternoon starts than they ordinarily do for night games. Manager Lloyd McClendon also complained about playing too many night home games before leaving on road trips.

A season after playing at home on all three summer holidays, the Pirates will again be at home on Memorial Day (May 30, Marlins, 1:35 p.m.) and July 4 (Phillies, 4:05 p.m.) The July 4 game is the Pirates' only 4:05 p.m. home game all season. The Pirates aren't scheduled on Labor Day, Sept. 5.

The NL Central rival Cubs, Astros and Brewers play three series apiece in Pittsburgh, but the Cardinals and Reds appear there only twice - with both Reds' visits coming during the final six weeks of the season. The Reds don't play in Pittsburgh until starting a three-game series Aug. 26, then return three weeks later for another three-game series Sept. 16-18.

The Pirates play two series in Cincinnati - April 20-21 and May 26-29 - before the Reds travel to Pittsburgh.