Astros, Rangers to open '13 season

The Houston Astros will open their season as an American League team against a familiar foe, the in-state rival Texas Rangers.

The teams will kick off the 2013 baseball season March 31 at 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN, the league announced. The Sunday night telecast will be the Astros first since switching leagues.

The next day, ESPN will broadcast four Opening Day games across their networks featuring the winners of the past seven World Series. The Boston Red Sox will play the New York Yankees at 1 p.m. ET; the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at 4 p.m. ET; the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves at 7 p.m. and the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks at 10 p.m.