The Braves and Nationals will take center stage when they play in front of ESPN's national television audience on March 30. This will be the inaugural game at newly constructed Nationals Park.

After playing this season opener at 8:05 p.m. ET, the Braves will immediately travel back to Atlanta to prepare for their March 31 home opener against the Pirates.

"I think there it's definitely exciting knowing that you're going to be able to open the season with a national focus and having the chance to open a new ballpark," Braves general manager Frank Wren said.

The Braves are scheduled to end their Grapefruit League season on March 27 and return to Atlanta to spend the next two days playing exhibition games at Turner Field against the Indians.

After concluding their March 29 game against the Indians, the Braves will travel to Washington to prepare for their season opener. As long as weather doesn't postpone their scheduled home opener, they will have a day to rest on April 1 and then resume their three-game series against the Pirates the following day.

"I think if you were doing this near the end of the season, it could be a little bit of a drain," Wren said. "You can put up with it at the beginning of the season, especially when you have something like this."

The Braves are scheduled to play the Nationals in Washington twice in April. They'll return to Nationals Park to play a three-game, weekend series April 11-13 and a two-game series April 29-30.

Originally, they were scheduled to end April with a three-game series in Washington. But, because of this special season opener, that series has been reduced to two games.