Greeneville Astros Announce 2016 Game Schedule
November 18, 2015 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Greeneville Astros News Release
GREENEVILLE, TN- The defending Appalachian League champion Greeneville Astros have released the dates for their 2016 game schedule, which will mark their 13th season in the Appalachian League. The slate features 34 home games at Pioneer Park in addition to 34 games on the road throughout the Appalachian League beginning in late June and continuing through the beginning of September.
Last season, the Astros advanced to their second Appalachian League Championship in the last three years and won their first title since their inaugural 2004 season. Their dramatic postseason run came after claiming a wildcard spot following a 34-33 record during the 2015 regular season. They will begin defense of their title in 2016 at Pioneer Park with a season-opening three-game series against the division rival Johnson City Cardinals on Thursday, June 23rd.
The Astros will be opening the season at home for the third time in club history and for the second time in the last three years. It will be the third time the Astros' will face Johnson City on Opening Day and the fifth time their home opener will be against them.
The opening series against the Cardinals takes place from Thursday-Saturday. Of the 34 scheduled home games, a total of 19 contests will occur on one of these three days of the week. Leading the way will be seven Fridays. Then, there will be six Thursdays and six Saturdays respectively. As for the rest of the days of the week, there will be five Wednesdays, four Sundays and Mondays, and two Tuesdays.
Breaking the schedule down by the month, there will be three home games in June, 18 in July, and 13 in August. Meanwhile, the team will be on the road for five games in June, 12 in July, and 17 in August.
In the Astros' home West Division, they will face the Kingsport Mets 11 times with seven at home, and they will face the Elizabethton Twins nine times with six taking place at home. Meanwhile, they will also face the Johnson City Cardinals and Bristol Pirates nine times, but the home field advantage will go to their opponents in those contests as the Astros will host each club for just one three-game series apiece. In the East Division, the Astros will face each of the five teams in one three-game series at home and one three-game series on the road.
Following their home series with the Cardinals to start the season, the Astros will hit the road over the next six days. They will start with their lone commuter trip of the season to Bristol to take on the Pirates. Then, they will follow that with another three-game set on their annual road trip to face the Princeton Rays, the team they defeated two-games-to-one in the 2015 Appalachian League Championship Series.
The Astros return home on Saturday, July 2nd to begin a home series against the Kingsport Mets that will conclude with their annual Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration game. It will be the third time the Astros have hosted the Mets on this occasion. Overall, the Astros have an 8-4 record on July 4th and have won each of their last three by a total score of 26-5.
A single road game at Kingsport will be followed by three more home games against the Burlington Royals concluding on Friday, July 8th. Then, they will visit the Elizabethton Twins for three games before the first of three league-wide off days on Tuesday, July 12th, which will be the day of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego, CA.
When the Astros return to the field, they will host the first of three six-game homestands during the year against the Pulaski Mariners and Bluefield Blue Jays. Then, following three games in Johnson City, the Astros will have their second six-game homestand beginning on Friday, July 22nd against the Bristol Pirates and continuing against the Princeton Rays.
The Astros' first overnight road trip since the beginning of July, and just their second of the season, will take place in Bluefield, WV against the Blue Jays beginning on July 28th. Then, the Astros will close out July and head into August with three games at Kingsport.
The second league-wide off day will take place on Wednesday, August 3rd. Then, the Astros will host Bristol and Johnson City on either side of a road trip at the Pulaski Yankees. That will be followed by a four-game split series with Kingsport before the final off day on Wednesday, August 17th.
Upon their return, the Astros will be on the road for the next six days as they take on the Danville Braves and Burlington Royals in back-to-back series. By doing so, the Astros combine their two longest road trips into one. An interesting note is that 12 of the Astros final 15 games will take place against the perennial playoff contending Braves and the Elizabethton Twins.
The Astros will conclude their home schedule when they begin their third six-game homestand of the season on Wednesday, August 24th against the Braves. It will conclude with their home finale on Monday, August 29th versus Elizabethton.
To finish off the regular season, the Astros will travel to Elizabethton for three final games against the Twins ending on Thursday, September 1st.
The two teams with the best win-loss percentage in both the East and West Divisions, at the conclusion of the 68-game regular season, will qualify for the playoffs beginning on Saturday, September 3rd.
In the first round of the playoffs, each division leader will face the second place finisher in their division in a best-of-three series. Game one will be at the home of the second place finisher and will conclude with game two and game three, if necessary, at the home of the division winner. The winner of the series will earn the right to play in the Appalachian League Championship Series.
Following the completion of the first round, the two winning teams from the first round will square off in a best-of-three playoff that will begin at the home of the easternmost club. The Championship Series will conclude with game two and game three, if necessary, at the home of the westernmost club.
The Greeneville Astros' entire 2016 game schedule can be found on www.greenevilleastros.com. Game times and a full promotional schedule will be released on a future date.
The Greeneville Astros are the Appalachian League affiliate of the Houston Astros. Renewals and new purchases of season tickets, half-season tickets, and mini-plans are now available at the Astros Administrative office located at Pioneer Park on the campus of Tusculum College. The office is open Monday-Friday from 9:00am-5:30pm. For more information on the Astros, call (423) 638-0411 or visit www.greenevilleastros.com.
2016 GREENEVILLE ASTROS SCHEDULE
Date Opponent
June 23-25 JOHNSON CITY CARDINALS
June 26-28 @ Bristol Pirates
June 29-July 1 @ Princeton Rays
July 2-4 KINGSPORT METS
July 5 @ Kingsport Mets
July 6-8 BURLINGTON ROYALS
July 9-11 @ Elizabethton Twins
July 12 OFF
July 13-15 PULASKI YANKEES
July 16-18 BLUEFIELD BLUE JAYS
July 19-21 @ Johnson City Cardinals
July 22-24 BRISTOL PIRATES
July 25-27 PRINCETON RAYS
July 28-30 @ Bluefield Blue Jays
July 31-Aug 2 @ Kingsport Mets
August 3 OFF
August 4-6 BRISTOL PIRATES
August 7-9 @ Pulaski Yankees
August 10-12 JOHNSON CITY CARDINALS
August 13-15 @ Kingsport Mets
August 16 JOHNSON CITY CARDINALS
August 17 OFF
August 18-20 @ Danville Braves
August 21-23 @ Burlington Royals
August 24-26 DANVILLE BRAVES
August 27-29 ELIZABETHTON TWINS
Aug 30-Sep 1 @ Elizabethton Twins
Sep 3 Playoffs Begin (Round 1)
Appalachian League Stories from November 18, 2015
- Greeneville Astros Announce 2016 Game Schedule - Greeneville Astros
- Bristol Pirates Release 2016 Schedule - Bristol State Liners
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