Greeneville Astros announce 2017 game schedule
The Greeneville Astros are back for their 14th season in the Appalachian League and have announced the dates set for their 2017 schedule. Fans will once again be treated to 34 games at Pioneer Park from late June through the end of August. The team will also travel on the road for 34 games to face their nine Appalachian League opponents.
The season will kick off on June 22nd at Pioneer Park, marking this as the fourth time in club history that the team will start the season at home. The Astros will take on the Bluefield Blue Jays, a first in club history at Pioneer Park as the only other opening series against the Blue Jays was on the road in 2013. Following their home debut, the Astros travel to Bristol on the 25th for the Pirates home opener. The Astros will face the Pirates nine times in 2017, with six of those games in Bristol and three at Pioneer Park.
Following the three games at Bristol, the Astros will head to Johnson City to face the reigning Appalachian League Champions. It will also be the first of nine games against the Cardinals, again with six of those games on the road and three at home.
Returning on July 1st, the Astros will begin the first of three six-game homestands with a three game series against the Kingsport Mets. The Astros will then begin a series against the Cardinals with their annual Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration. It will mark the second time the Astros have played Johnson City for this game and the team will look to improve upon its 8-5 Independence Day record.
After an exciting stretch of play at home, the Astros will hit the road for eight days. They will head to Kingsport to face the Mets for the second time in a week. Following a league wide off day on July 11th, the Astros will travel to their first Eastern Division road game as they take on the Bluefield Blue Jays.
The team will return to Pioneer Park on July 15th to play Elizabethton for the first of a four and four series with the Twins before once again visiting Danville for a three game stretch with the Braves. A home series beginning on July 21st will then bring two Eastern Division teams to Pioneer Park as the Pulaski Yankees and then the Princeton Rays will make their annual trip to Greeneville.
Beginning on July 27th, the Astros will begin their second longest stretch away from home with a three game trip to Bristol to face the Pirates and then to Burlington to face off with the Royals in a three game series beginning on the 30th. The second league wide off day will be held on August 2nd and then the Astros will return home for their final six game homestand of the season. Beginning on Thursday, August 3rd, the Astros will host the last of their Eastern Division opponents when the Braves and Royals come to Greeneville.
The team then heads to Elizabethton on August 9th for their second of three series against the Twins. The Astros return to Greeneville to face Kingsport for a final time with their only four game home series of the season. The final league wide off day will occur on August 16 after which the Astros will visit Pulaski to face the Yankees. Returning home on the 20th, the Astros will face the Pirates for three games before returning to Johnson City for the final series against the Cardinals.
The Astros will once again end their regular season home schedule against the Twins with a final series at Pioneer Park ending on August 28th. The team will close out the regular season on the road against the Princeton Rays with the final game to be played on August 31st.
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 2nd.
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 2017 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.
2017 GREENEVILLE ASTROS SCHEDULE
Date Opponent
June 22-24 BLUEFIELD BLUE JAYS
June 25-27 @ Bristol Pirates
June 28-30 @ Johnson City Cardinals
July 1-3 KINGSPORT METS
July 4-6 JOHNSON CITY CARDINALS
July 7-10 @ Kingsport Mets
July 11 OFF
July 12-14 @Bluefield Blue Jays
July 15-17 ELIZABETHTON TWINS
July 18-20 @ Danville Braves
July 21-23 PULASKI YANKEES
July 24-26 PRINCETON RAYS
July 27-29 @ Bristol Pirates
July 30-Aug 1 @ Burlington Royals
August 2 OFF
August 3-5 DANVILLE BRAVES
August 6-8 BURLINGTON ROYALS
August 9-11 @ Elizabethton Twins
August 12-15 KINGSPORT METS
August 16 OFF
August 17-19 @ Pulaski Yankees
August 20-22 BRISTOL PIRATES
August 23-25 @ Johnson City Cardinals
August 26-28 ELIZABETHTON TWINS
August 29-31 @ Princeton Rays
Sep 2 Playoffs Begin (Round 1)