What you need to know about the Royals home opener

The Royals begin their 45th home season at Kauffman Stadium on Monday against the Oakland Athletics. Ian Kennedy gets the start against A’s rookie Jharel Cotton for the 3:15 p.m. game. While there will be no championship flag ceremony this year, there should be plenty of pomp and circumstance to celebrate the return of the Royals. Here is the schedule of events.

9:00 a.m. - Gates open to the parking lots

1:00 p.m. - Gates open to Kauffman Stadium

2:15 p.m. - Pre-game introductions, including tribute to Yordano Ventura

3:15 p.m. - First pitch, Royals vs. Athletics

Kansas City native Melissa Etheridge will sign the national anthem. Yordano Ventura’s mother Marisol will throw out the ceremonial first pitch in what should be an emotional moment. The first 40,000 fans will receive a promotional magnetic schedule. The weather should be...nice.

The game will be carried live on Fox Sports Kansas City, which you can also stream live on the Fox Sports Go app. Coverage begins at 2 p.m., so you can catch all the pre-game ceremonies. If you are out of market, you can catch the game on MLB Network (for some regions). You can also listen to the Royals on 610 Sports Radio or through the Royals Radio Network.

The Royals will have an off-day on Tuesday, then resume their series on Wednesday evening against the Athletics with Jason Hammel facing former Royals farmhand Andrew Triggs. The series concludes Thursday evening with Jason Vargas facing Jesse Hahn.