ESPN Adds Reds, Cubs Matchup To Its SNB Broadcast Schedule

ESPN announced the latest addition to its weekly Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell broadcast schedule this week. On June 14th, ESPN’s flagship baseball broadcast will come live from Chicago as the Cubs host the Reds in an NL Central showdown.

ESPN’s June 14th broadcast will be the closer for the teams’ four-game series, which kicks off Thursday, June 11th. Details for each team’s starting lineup will be released soon. Cincinnati (21 – 27) just finished a three-game sweep of the NL East-leading Washington Nationals on Sunday going 8 – 2 against the Nats. Cincinnati won Friday’s game 5 – 2 and went 8 -5 on Saturday. Cincinnati’s win today came courtesy of a 6-run deluge from the Reds in the 7th inning after a relatively quiet day on both sides of the bat. Before that, Washington had only allowed 2 total runs from Cincinnati. One came in the 4th and the other in the 5th. The Nats’ bullpen struggled in Sunday’s game, with starter Tanner Rourke allowing 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 home runs, and 2 walks in 6 innings pitched. He struck out only 1 batter along the way. Things weren’t much better for the rest of Washington’s bullpen as Matt Grace and Aaron Barrett combined to allow a total of 6 runs, 5 hits, and 6 earned runs. Grace also allowed 2 walks in his time on the mound before being pulled. On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati starter Michael Lorenzen had a slightly better day, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 4 over 6 innings. He had his share of struggles, though. He walked 6 batters, allowed 2 runs, and 2 earned runs over that span of time.

There’s no time to rest for Washington as it prepares for a 7-game home stand beginning Monday night with a three-game series against the Miwaukee Brewers. That series will be followed up by a 4-game series against the Cubs. The Reds only get a day to rest on Monday before hitting the road again on Tuesday, this time to face the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series in the city of brotherly love. After that, it’s back home for a three-game home-stand against San Diego and then another three-game run against Philadelphia at Great American Ballpark before that long 4-game stretch against the Cubs, which will lead up to ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell broadcast on the 14th that will see that series’ final game.

Courtesy: ESPN (L – R) Dan Shulman, John Kruk, Curt Schilling

Dan Shulman will have the call for the June 14th broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Curt Schilling and John Kruk. Buster Olney will also be on hand during the game for additional coverage. Those not near a TV during the game can catch it on their local ESPN Radio affiliate. Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton will have the call for ESPN Radio. Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet will precede Sunday night’s game. It will air at 7pm ET on ESPN with Karl Ravech anchoring the broadcast. He will be joined by analyst Aaron Boone and reporters Tim Kurkjian and Nicole Briscoe. There’s lots of other action on the diamond in the weeks leading up to that June 14th broadcast including the the Cardinals on the road against the Dodgers on June 7th and the Angels hosting the Tigers tonight, May 31st. The current broadcast schedule, for those that would like to know, of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell is listed below.

Sunday Night Baseball upcoming schedule:

Date Game

May 31 Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim presented by Taco Bell

June 7 St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers presented by Taco Bell

June 14 Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs presented by Taco Bell

June 21 San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers presented by Taco Bell

June 28 Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals presented by Taco Bell

July 5 TBD

July 12 St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates presented by Taco Bell

July 19 Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim presented by Taco Bell

More information on ESPN’s MLB coverage is available online now along with all of the latest MLB news at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/mlb

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESPNBaseballTonight

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN Opens 25th Anniversary Season Of MLB Coverage This Weekend

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN hits a major mark this weekend.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports begins its 25th season of Major League Baseball coverage beginning this Sunday night. ESPN opens its 25th anniversary season covering Major League Baseball live from San Diego, California. Chase Headley and the Padres host Yasiel Puig and the Los Angeles Dodgers live on ESPN’s MLB Opening Night Presented by Scotts at 8pm ET on ESPN in the network’s season opening broadcast. Dan Shulman will have the call. He will be joined by analyst John Kruk and reporter Buster Olney for the broadcast. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, and ESPN Deportes. Before the game starts, ESPN will air a special 90-minute edition of Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown beginning at 6:30pm live from Petco Park in San Diego with Karl Ravech, Jon Kruk and MLB Hall of Famer/ESPN analyst Barry Larkin. Larkin and Ravech will hit the road after Sunday’s broadcast for a special Opening Day edition of Baseball Tonight live at 12pm ET live from Great American Ballpark.

Sunday night’s Opening Night broadcast will be followed up Monday with an Opening Day double header broadcast. Game one will come live from Pittsburgh as reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates host Starlin Castro and the Chicago Cubs. The broadcast is scheduled for a 1pm ET start time. Sean McDonough will anchor the broadcast. He will be joined in the booth by analyst Aaron Boone and reporter Tim Kurkjian. The second game on the day will see Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds host NL Central foes and defending National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Dan Shulman will have the play-by-play for the game. He will be joined by Jon Kruk and Buster Olney for the trio’s second game in less than twenty-four hours.

If ESPN’s Opening Day double header isn’t enough for baseball lovers, ESPN2 will have a triple-header beginning at 3pm ET. Game one on the day’s schedule will see David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox hosting Chris Davis and the Baltimore Orioles at the famed Fenway Park. Dave O’Brien will anchor the broadcast. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Rick Sutcliff and Eric Wedge, and reporter Pedro Gomez. Troy Tulowitzki and the Colorado Rockies will host Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami Marlins in the second game of the three-game schedule. SportsCenter’s Steve Levy will call the play-by-play action for the game. He will be joined by analyst Eduardo Perez for more insight. The last game of the day on ESPN2’s triple header schedule will see Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners on the road against Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That game is scheduled for a 10pm ET start time. Jon Sciambi will have the call. Analyst Doug Glanville and reporter Jessica Mendoza will also be on hand for more coverage throughout the game.

All of ESPN’s games and Baseball Tonight can be watched online through all computers and mobile internet via WatchESPN. Specific games will also be on ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes +, and ESPN Radio.

More information on ESPN’s Opening Night and Opening Day coverage is available online at http://espn.go.com. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.