Royals to open with Mets

? The champion Kansas City Royals will host the New York Mets in a World Series rematch when the 2016 Major League Baseball season starts in April with three Sunday openers. Next year’s schedule also includes two games in Puerto Rico between Pittsburgh and Miami.

MLB made the announcement Thursday. The St. Louis Cardinals will visit Pittsburgh in the first game of the year.

The Pirates and Marlins will play May 30-31 in San Juan. They will celebrate Roberto Clemente Day, a league-wide tribute honoring the late Pirates Hall of Famer who was born and raised on the island.

The matchup at Hiram Bithorn Stadium will count as Marlins’ home games. They will be MLB’s first games in Puerto Rico since the Marlins and Mets played in 2010.

The season starts April 3 with three games: Cardinals at Pirates, followed by Toronto at Tampa Bay and then the Mets visiting Kansas City at night. For the second straight year, all games played on the last day of the season — Oct. 2 — will start approximately 2 p.m. CDT.