Courtesy: ESPN
ESPN announced the first slate of games on its Sunday Night Baseball broadcast schedule this week.
The network released the 14-game schedule Monday, and this year’s schedule launches March 31 as the Phillies host the Braves in a National League inter-divisional matchup. Week Two will see National League West foes Colorado and Los Angeles go under the lights live.
The Dodgers took the division in the 2018 season, and were followed very closely by the Rockies, who trailed L.A. by only one game at the end of the regular season. The Rockies got a wild card slot for the post season, but fell just short of the NLCS, losing 3 games – 0 against Milwaukee. Milwaukee went on to face Los Angeles in the National League Championship series, with Los Angeles winning that series, but ultimately falling in the World Series to Boston.
The Braves, who fell to the Dodgers in the NLCS last season, will be on the road against St. Louis in the third game on ESPN’s 2019 SNB broadcast schedule. That game is scheduled for May 26.
Boston is also included in this year’s early season broadcast schedule. The Red Sox are scheduled to play live under the lights on SNB on June 2 against their age-old foes, the New York Yankees in New York.
This year’s SNB schedule will be preceded by a triple-header schedule March 28 that opens with the Yankees hosting the Orioles in an American League East matchup at 1 p.m. ET. The Dodgers hope to avoid getting snake-bitten as they host the Diamondbacks at 4 p.m. The Mariners host the Red Sox at 7 p.m. to round out the day’s coverage.
This year marks the second year that ESPN will be the exclusive home to Major League Baseball’s second-half opener. That game is scheduled to feature the Texas Rangers — in their last year in their current stadium — hosting their cross-state (and AL West) rivals, the Houston Astros. According to a news release from ESPN, broadcast is scheduled to be played at 8 p.m., July 11.
This year also marks the first time that it will start its Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell telecasts at 7 p.m. Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet will precede the broadcasts at 6 p.m.
This season is especially important for ESPN because it marks the network’s 30th year covering Major League Baseball. ESPN’s current SNB boradcast schedule is noted below.
Current 2019 Sunday Night Baseball schedule:
|
Date |
Time (ET) |
Game selection |
|
March 31 |
7 p.m. |
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies |
|
April 7 |
8:30 p.m. *Special start time |
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies |
|
May 26 |
7 p.m. |
Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals |
|
June 2 |
7 p.m. |
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees |
|
June 16 |
7 p.m. |
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers |
|
July 14 |
7 p.m. |
Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox |
|
July 28 |
7 p.m. |
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox |
|
August 4 |
7 p.m. |
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees |
|
August 18 |
7 p.m. |
MLB Little League Classic: Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates |
|
August 25 |
7 p.m. |
New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers |
|
September 8 |
8 p.m. * Special start time |
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox |
*Additional game selections will be determined in the upcoming weeks.
More information on ESPN’s MLB coverage is available online now along with all of the latest MLB headlines at:
Website: http://www.espn.com/mlb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESPN
Twitter: http://twitter.com/espn
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