NEW YORK — Major league baseball says all 30 teams will play on March 28, the earliest opening day in history, excluding international openers.

The Pirates will open the season that day at Cincinnati. The Bucs’ home opener is at 1:05 p.m. April 1 against St. Louis.

The previous earliest opening day was March 29 of this year.

MLB released the 2019 schedule Wednesday. It will begin with the Japan opening series between the Seattle Mariners and host Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome on March 20-21.

The 2019 season will be the second under the scheduling format agreed to as part of the 2017-2021 basic agreement. That format adds an additional weekend at the beginning of the season and gives each team three to four additional off days throughout the season to provide added rest and opportunities for rescheduling.