Burke Magnus, ESPN Executive Vice President, Programming & Scheduling, discusses the season-opening schedule on ESPN Front Row. The piece includes a By The Numbers graphic.
- March 29 Opening Day Quadruple-header with 13 Consecutive Hours of Coverage
- 29th Season of ESPN’s Exclusive Sunday Night Baseball Starts April 1: Defending National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers Host Rival San Francisco Giants
- Several of MLB’s Most Exciting Stars Step Up to the Plate: José Altuve, Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout & More
- Two Full-National Appearances by Defending World Series Champion Houston Astros Including their Home-Opener
ESPN will begin its 29th season of Major League Baseball coverage with a 10-game season-opening schedule, including an Opening Day quadruple-header on Thursday, March 29. That day, ESPN will televise 13 consecutive hours of Opening Day action with games at 12:30 p.m. ET (Chicago Cubs at Miami Marlins), 3:30 p.m. (Houston Astros at Texas Rangers), 7 p.m. (San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers – exclusive), and 10 p.m. (Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners).
ESPN’s 29th season of Sunday Night Baseball – the exclusive, national MLB game of the week – opens on April 1, when the Dodgers host their long-time rivals, the Giants. There will be a special start time of 8:30 p.m. Sunday Night Baseball is also available on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio. All ESPN MLB telecasts are also available via the ESPN App.
The season-opening schedule will include several of baseball’s biggest stars, including AL M.V.P. José Altuve, NL Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger, superstar slugger AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge and two-time M.V.P. Mike Trout. Also, ESPN will televise two full-national appearances each by the defending World Series Champion Astros and the defending NL Champion Dodgers, as well as both team’s home-openers.
More highlights:
- Five 2017 MLB Postseason teams in action (Astros, Cubs, Dodgers, Indians, Yankees);
- Nearly half of all MLB Clubs will appear across the full 10-game schedule;
- The Marlins host the Cubs in the Marlins first regular-season game under new owner and MLB legend Derek Jeter;
- The Indians visit the Los Angeles Angels and two-time M.V.P. Mike Trout on back-to-back nights.
Unless otherwise noted, these MLB season-opening games are available on ESPN nationally and in home markets.
| Date | Time (ET) | Telecast | Network(s) |
| Thu, March 29 | 12:30 p.m. | Chicago Cubs at Miami Marlins* | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | Houston Astros at Texas Rangers | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (Exclusive) | ESPN | |
| 10 p.m. | Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners | ESPN | |
| Sun, April 1 | 1 p.m. | St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets** | ESPN |
| 8:30 p.m. | San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (Exclusive) telecast presented by Taco Bell | ESPN | |
| Mon, April 2 | 1 p.m. | Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees*** telecast presented by USAA | ESPN |
| 7 p.m. | Baltimore Orioles at Houston Astros telecast presented by USAA | ESPN | |
| 10 p.m. | Cleveland Indians at Los Angeles Angels telecast presented by USAA | ESPN2 | |
| Tue, April 3 | 10 p.m. | Cleveland Indians at Los Angeles Angels telecast presented by Hankook Tire | ESPN |
*Telecast will be subject to blackout restrictions in the Chicago market.
**Telecast will be subject to blackout restrictions in both the St. Louis and New York markets.
***Telecast will be subject to blackout restrictions in the New York market.
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ESPN MLB contacts:
Ben Cafardo at 860-766-3496 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @Ben_ESPN;
Michael Skarka at 860-766-1342 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @Michael_ESPN.
