We’re still in the thick of the NBA Playoffs, and the Western Conference Finals are about to make NBC and Peacock their exclusive home next week — but Major League Baseball still has a place on every sports fans calendar. It’s prime baseball weather, and to celebrate, NBC Sports is moving the latest installment of Sunday Night Baseball from a Peacock-exclusive matchup to a primetime showdown live on NBC.
This Sunday, NBC Sports heads to Seattle to catch the third in a three-game series between the Mariners and the visiting San Diego Padres. It’s an interleague showdown in primetime, and now you can catch it on both NBC and Peacock!
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How to watch Padres vs. Mariners on Sunday Night Baseball (May 17)
The Padres and the Mariners broadcast is set to start up at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, live on NBC and Peacock from T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Jason Benetti will be on the call for NBC Sports, joined by former Major League pitchers Jake Peavy and Ryan Rowland-Smith in the booth for expert analysis. Ahmed Fareed hosts the Sunday Night Baseball pregame show alongside MLB great Anthony Rizzo, who will also provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary during the game.
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What to expect from Padres vs. Mariners
Sunday night’s game arrives at the tail end of a three-game series between this two teams, which means the Padres and the Mariners have had plenty of time to get to know each other at this specific moment in their season. That said, there’s a little bit of an unknown factor in store here for San Diego, and that’s Lucas Giolito, the newly acquired right handed pitcher who’s likely to make his Padres debut in Sunday’s game. San Diego’s hoping he’ll add something to the pitching rotation, shaking up a Mariners squad trying to get above .500 in winning percentage after a playoff run last season.
Beyond the pitching unknowns, this is very much a defensive showcase. The Padres are arguably the best fielding team in the league right now, while the Mariners’ pitching rotation ranks among the best across baseball. Neither team has managed to get much of a batting attack going so far this season, with the Padres dead last in team batting average and the Mariners in the bottom 10 across the MLB. That means we may be looking at more of a chess match than a slugfest, but if you like watching pitchers duel it out, Sunday night could be a real treat.
Plus, this isn’t an ordinary game. This is the third game in a series that’ll decide the rivalry matchup known in baseball as the “Vedder Cup,” named for Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder, who has personal connections to both Seattle and San Diego. Winner of the series gets a sweet commemorative guitar to keep for the next year, so there’s more than bragging rights on the line.