The Los Angeles Dodgers were selected for one ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast during the first half of the 2021 season. It comes April 25, when the Dodgers face the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. The start time is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT.
It represents the first appearance on Sunday Night Baseball for the Padres since 2007. The Dodgers are often picked by ESPN for a national broadcast, but will have to wait for the network to announce their remaining schedule to see if they will make more appearances this season.
As it currently stands, the Atlanta Braves lead all teams with four ESPN Sunday Night Baseball selections thus far. The New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are second with three of the national broadcasts.
When the Dodgers and Padres take the field for their matchup, it will mark their second head-to-head series of the season. L.A. and San Diego had entertaining series in 2020, and finished first and second not only in the National League West but league standings as well.
The Dodgers won six of the 10 meetings, and then swept the Padres in the NL Division Series. That included some fireworks as Brusdar Graterol and Manny Machado exchanged words after Cody Bellinger robbed Fernando Tatis Jr. of what would have been a go-ahead home run.
“Very talented team, a lot of energy,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts of the Padres this week.
“You can put Tatis in the top few of the best players in all of baseball, Manny had an MVP-type of year, the bullpen is always something they’ve been very good at, the starting pitching is certainly on the come, and they had some young players who really stepped up and had nice years. It’s a fun group to watch and compete against.
“A.J. and his staff, I thought Jayce did a great job with his coaching staff. We’re going to have some good series and games here in the future.”
ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast details
Along with airing nationally on ESPN, Sunday Night Baseball games also are available on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and streaming via the ESPN app.
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