ESPN announced it has picked up Sunday’s series finale between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets for a Sunday Night Baseball telecast. It marks the fourth time this season the Dodgers and Mets will play in front of a national audience on the network.
The contest will air at 4 p.m. PT and be available across ESPN, the ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio. “Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown” precedes the broadcast with a one-hour pre-game show, starting at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
Matt Vasgersian will provide the play-by-play commentary alongside analysts Alex Rodriguez and Jessica Mendoza. Veteran reporter Buster Olney will also assist the crew from the field level.
Former Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, who was part of many ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecasts over the course of his career, is not a fan of the concept.
He cited travel concerns that can take a toll on players following the contest, as West Coast teams typically fly to a different time zone the following morning. Luckily for the Dodgers, they have a scheduled off day on Monday.
The Dodgers and Mets previously faced off this season in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. The matchup was rather lopsided, as Los Angeles took three against New York.
The third game of the set was memorable in that the Dodgers overcame a three-run deficit in the ninth inning to come away with a 9-8 victory. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy kickstarted the frame with back-to-back home runs against Mets closer Edwin Diaz before consecutive doubles from Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger evened the score.
Then with the bases loaded and no outs, Alex Verdugo delivered the decisive blow with a game-winning sacrifice fly that scored Bellinger. The victory gave L.A. their fifth in six contests, as they concluded the month of May with three consecutive wins.
With the Dodgers having clinched seventh consecutive National League West title, the Mets are trying to extend their season into October as well. Their odds were hurt by dropping the series opener, but came away with a win by rallying against the Dodgers bullpen on Saturday.