ESPN to exclusively televise 7 of 8 MLB Wild Card Series |
ESPN will exclusively televise seven of the eight 2020 Major League Baseball Wild Card Series presented by Hankook Tire as part of the expanded MLB Postseason, from Tuesday, September 29 through Friday, October 2. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise up to 21 games in four days, including seven games on September 30 as part of the first-of-its-kind MLB Postseason event. ESPN platforms will exclusively televise all National League Wild Card Series games and three out of four American League Wild Card Series games. All games will also be available to stream via the ESPN App.
Coverage of the best of three series will begin with three games across platforms on September 29. ABC will broadcast its first MLB Postseason game in 25 years (since 1995), starting at 2 p.m. ET on September 29, as the Minnesota Twins host the Houston Astros. Karl Ravech will provide commentary with analysts Eduardo Perez and Tim Kurkjian. At 3 p.m. on ESPN, the Chicago White Sox will visit the Oakland Athletics. Dave Flemming will call the action with analysts Jessica Mendoza and Rick Sutcliffe. The New York Yankees will visit the Cleveland Indians on September 29 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN with the Sunday Night Baseball team providing commentary. Matt Vasgersian will call the game with analyst Alex Rodriguez and reporter Buster Olney. A Statcast-driven alternate presentation of Yankees vs. Indians will air live on ESPN+. ESPN MLB reporters, including Marly Rivera, Alden Gonzalez, Kiley McDaniel and ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez will also contribute to telecasts throughout the MLB Wild Card Series. ESPN commentator assignments: Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez and Buster Olney to call the (5) New York Yankees vs. (4) Cleveland Indians series with Marly Rivera also reporting and the (7) Cincinnati Reds vs. (2) Atlanta Braves series with Kiley McDaniel also reporting. Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and Tim Kurkjian to call the (6) Houston Astros vs. (3) Minnesota Twins series and (8) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (1) Los Angeles Dodgers series. Jon Sciambi, Chipper Jones and Jesse Rogers to call the (6) Miami Marlins vs. (3) Chicago Cubs series. Dave Flemming and analyst Jessica Mendoza to call the (7) Chicago White Sox vs. (2) Oakland Athletics series. Tom Hart, Rick Sutcliffe and Pedro Gomez to call the (5) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (4) San Diego Padres series. MLB Wild Card Series on ESPN+ For the first time, ESPN will offer its MLB Statcast-driven alternate presentations on ESPN+, beginning September 29, at 7 p.m. ET for the New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians game. Jason Benetti will provide commentary with analyst Kyle Peterson and MLB Statcast Insider Mike Petriello. The trio will also call an additional game on Friday, October 2, currently slated as Game 3 between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, if necessary. The Statcast team will also anchor ESPN+’s first live MLB whiparound show called “Squeeze Play” on both September 30 and October 1. The team will go live on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET to begin approximately 10 hours of live coverage each day, cutting in to key moments in MLB Wild Card Series matchups and providing expert analysis and commentary. “Squeeze Play” will provide coverage through the conclusion of the 7 p.m. ET games on those evening. ESPN’s MLB Wild Card Series game coverage will emanate from its Bristol, Conn. studios. Play-by-play commentators will generally call games from the studios with analysts generally appearing remotely. Reporters will appear on site at select venues. ESPN television schedule Date Time (ET) Game Commentators Platform Tue, Sept. 29 2 p.m. Game 1: Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian ABC, ESPN App 3 p.m. Game 1: Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics Dave Flemming, Jessica Mendoza, ESPN, ESPN App 7 p.m. Game 1: New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Marly Rivera ESPN, ESPN App 7 p.m. Game 1: New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians (Statcast) Jason Benetti, Kyle Peterson, Mike Petriello, Marly Rivera ESPN+ Wed, Sept. 30 12 p.m. Game 1: Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Kiley McDaniel ESPN, ESPN App 1 p.m. “Squeeze Play” whiparound coverage Jason Benetti, Kyle Peterson, Mike Petriello ESPN+ 1 p.m. Game 2: Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian ESPN2, ESPN App 2 p.m. Game 1: Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs Jon Sciambi, Chipper Jones, Jesse Rogers ABC, ESPN App 3 p.m. Game 2: Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics Dave Flemming, Jessica Mendoza ESPN, ESPN App 5 p.m. Game 1: St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Tom Hart, Rick Sutcliffe, Pedro Gomez ESPN2, ESPN App 7 p.m. Game 2: New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Marly Rivera ESPN, ESPN App 10 p.m. Game 1: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian, Alden Gonzalez ESPN, ESPN App Thu, Oct. 1 TBD Game 2: Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Kiley McDaniel TBD TBD “Squeeze Play” whiparound coverage Jason Benetti, Kyle Peterson, Mike Petriello TBD TBD Game 3: Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins* if necessary Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian TBD TBD Game 2: Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs Jon Sciambi, Chipper Jones, Jesse Rogers TBD TBD Game 3: Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics* if necessary Dave Flemming, Jessica Mendoza TBD TBD Game 2: St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Tom Hart, Rick Sutcliffe, Pedro Gomez TBD TBD Game 3: New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians* if necessary Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Marly Rivera TBD TBD Game 2: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian, Alden Gonzalez TBD Fri, Oct. 2 TBD Game 3: Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs* if necessary Jon Sciambi, Chipper Jones, Jesse Rogers TBD TBD Game 3: Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves* if necessary Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, Kiley McDaniel TBD TBD Game 3: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers* if necessary Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian, Alden Gonzalez TBD TBD Game 3: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers* if necessary (Statcast) Jason Benetti, Kyle Peterson, Mike Petriello, Alden Gonzalez TBD TBD Game 3: St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres* if necessary Tom Hart, Rick Sutcliffe, Pedro Gomez TBD Baseball Tonight will air two shows on Tuesday, September 29 – from 2-3 p.m. ET and again from 6-7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Baseball Tonight will also provide studio updates and show highlights throughout the MLB Wild Card Series. Studio coverage will be hosted by Kevin Connors and feature analyst Mark Teixeira. MLB Wild Card Series on ESPN Radio ESPN Radio will nationally broadcast multiple games per day throughout the MLB Wild Card Series. Additionally, ESPN Radio will offer national audio coverage for the remainder of the MLB Postseason through the World Series. The audio from ESPN Radio broadcasts is available on the ESPN App. ESPN Radio schedule and commentators (September 29-30): Date Coverage Start Time (ET) Game Commentators Tue, Sept. 29 1:45 p.m. Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins Kevin Brown, Chris Singleton 2:45 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics Jon Sciambi and Jim Bowden 4:45 p.m. Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays Dan Shulman, Chris Burke 6:45 p.m. New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians Dave O’Brien, Chris Singleton Wed, Sept. 30 1:45 p.m. Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs Kevin Brown, Jim Bowden 3:45 p.m. Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays Dan Shulman, Chris Burke 6:45 p.m. New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians Dave O’Brien, Chris Singleton 9:45 p.m. Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers Dan Shulman, Jim Bowden ESPN is presenting a new, multi-platform MLB marketing campaign titled “Fall Frenzy” for the MLB Wild Card Series. “Fall Frenzy” is part of ESPN’s season-long “Give Us Baseball” campaign with a focus on the MLB Wild Card Series, emphasizing more teams, more fans and more excitement.
