World Series Champion Chicago Cubs to Visit Rival St. Louis Cardinals in Opening Night Prime-Time Exclusive on Sunday Night Baseball
ESPN to Exclusively Televise Chicago Cubs Home Opener, Championship Ceremony on April 10
The 2017 Major League Baseball season will begin with seven season-opening games in two days across ESPN and ESPN2 between Sunday, April 2 and Monday, April 3. The season-opening slate will be highlighted by an Opening Night prime-time exclusive: the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs will visit Busch Stadium and their rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET and will also be available on ESPN Radio (including streaming via ESPNRadio.com), ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio.
In addition, ESPN will exclusively televise the Cubs’ home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday Night Baseball presented by USAA, April 10, at 8 p.m. and coverage will include festivities from the Cubs’ championship ceremony at Wrigley Field.
Opening Day games on ESPN:
| Date | Time (ET) | Telecast | Network |
| Sun, Apr. 2 | 1 p.m. | New York Yankees* at Tampa Bay Rays | ESPN |
| 4 p.m. | San Francisco Giants* at Arizona Diamondbacks | ESPN2 | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals | ESPN | |
| Mon, Apr. 3 | 1 p.m. | Atlanta Braves at New York Mets* | ESPN |
| 4 p.m. | San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers* | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers | ESPN | |
| 10 p.m. | Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics | ESPN2 |
*Indicates game is subject to local blackout (NYY, SFG, NYM & LAD markets)
ESPN’s seven Opening Day games will include several highlights:
- Six 2016 MLB Postseason Clubs in action;
- Season-opening triple-header on Sunday, April 2, culminating in Opening Night prime-time exclusive;
- More than 12 consecutive hours of MLB Opening Day action across four games on Monday, April 3
- American League Champion Cleveland Indians, led by AL Manager of the Year Terry Francona, to host the Texas Rangers;
- Opening Day games for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
Dan Shulman, the voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball:
“The combination of the Cubs’ World Series win, with their Cardinals rivalry being one of the best in all of baseball, makes St. Louis a great place for us to open the 2017 season.”
All ESPN MLB games will also stream live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Additional ESPN coverage details for Opening Day and the 2017 MLB season will be issued in the coming weeks.
ESPN Images: Cubs, Cardinals downloadable photos | ESPN Front Row: MLB | ESPN Media Zone: Media Kit
-30-
Media 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.
