FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 14th, 2022

TORONTO BLUE JAYS HOST KANSAS CITY ROYALS ON MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF THIS SUNDAY, JULY 17 LIVE AT NOON ET ON PEACOCK; PREGAME BEGINS AT 11:30 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK

Dan Plesac (Blue Jays Analyst) and Rex Hudler (Royals Analyst) Join Jason Benetti (Play-by-Play) in MLB Sunday Leadoff Booth

NBC Sports’ Ahmed Fareed Hosts Pregame Coverage on Peacock at 11:30 a.m. ET, Alongside Former MLB Player Craig Monroe

SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game – Featuring Top Minor League Prospects – Streams Exclusively on Peacock this Saturday at 7 p.m. ET

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 14, 2022 – All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays host rookie infielder Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals from Rogers Centre on MLB Sunday Leadoff live this Sunday, July 17 at Noon ET on Peacock.

The Royals and Blue Jays combine to feature five American League 2022 MLB All-Stars. Guerrero Jr. and Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk were selected as All-Star starters, while Blue Jays outfielder George Springer and pitcher Alex Manoah and Kansas City outfielder Andrew Benintendi were named AL reserves.

Play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti will be joined in this week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff booth by analysts Dan Plesac (Blue Jays Analyst) and Rex Hudler (Royals Analyst). Benetti will be joined in the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth each week by local analysts from the participating teams.

Plesac, an 18-year MLB veteran and three-time All-Star pitcher, spent parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays from 1997-99 and 2001-02. Plesac is currently an analyst for MLB Network and returns to MLB Sunday Leadoff after serving as the pregame analyst for the Cardinals-Pirates matchup on May 22.

A 13-year MLB veteran as a second baseman, shortstop and outfielder, Hudler spent time with six MLB teams from 1984-98 after being a first-round pick by the Yankees in the 1978 MLB Draft. Hudler currently serves as a Royals analyst on Bally Sports Kansas City.

This week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff coverage begins with the pregame show at 11:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. NBC Sports’ Ahmed Fareed is the pre- and postgame host of MLB Sunday Leadoff and also serves as the in-game reporter.

Former MLB outfielder Craig Monroe will serve as this week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff pre- and postgame analyst alongside Fareed. Monroe, a nine-year MLB veteran, currently serves as a Tigers analyst on Bally Sports Detroit and returns to MLB Sunday Leadoff after joining Fareed and NBC Sports’ Britney Eurton for the July 3 Royals-Tigers game, which featured a unique broadcast without any commentators in the booth.

Rob Friedman, aka PitchingNinja, will also join the pregame show to provide pitching breakdowns.

How to Watch:

Date Show Time (ET) Platform
Sun., July 17 MLB Sunday Leadoff Pregame 11:30 a.m. Peacock
Sun., July 17 Royals vs. Blue Jays Noon Peacock

Commentators:

    • Play by Play: Jason Benetti
    • Analysts: Rex Hudler and Dan Plesac
    • Pre- and Postgame Host/In-game Reporter: Ahmed Fareed
    • Pre- and Postgame Analyst: Craig Monroe

 

SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game

This Saturday, July 16, Peacock presents exclusive coverage of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, featuring top minor league prospects, at 7 p.m. ET from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. A total of 30 of the 50 players on the roster are currently ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, including five of the top 10: Mets catcher Francisco Álvarez (No. 2), Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (No. 3), Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson (No. 5), Cardinals third baseman Jordan Walker (No. 7) and Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (No. 8). The National League Futures team will be managed by World Series-winning manager Mike Scioscia (2002 Anaheim Angels), who also won two World Series rings with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1981 and 1988). The American League squad will be led by World Series champion and 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins.

Scott Braun will call the game on Peacock alongside analysts Yonder Alonso and Jim Callis. Alonso had a 10-year MLB career and was named an All-Star in 2017. Callis is an MLB.com draft and prospect expert, covering the field since 1988. Former professional softball player AJ Andrews will serve as the in-game reporter.

Following the Futures Game, Peacock will present coverage of the Celebrity Softball Game at 10:15 p.m. ET featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood, rising celebrity stars, and MLB and Dodgers legends. Participants expected to participate on Saturday include two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim, WWE superstar The Miz, MLB legends CC Sabathia, Hunter Pence, Shawn Green, and Andre Ethier, softball legend and Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch, and more.

How to Watch:

Date Show Time (ET) Platform
Sat., July 16 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game 7 a.m. Peacock

Commentators:

    • Play by Play: Scott Braun
    • Analysts: Yonder Alonso and Jim Callis
    • In-game Reporter: AJ Andrews

 

Beginning Sunday, May 8 with the debut game of MLB Sunday Leadoff, Peacock will live stream an NBC Sports-produced baseball game for 18 consecutive weeks, with start times for the first six Sunday games at 11:30 a.m. ET and the following 12 Sunday games beginning at Noon ET. Each game will feature NBC Sports-produced pregame and post-game shows on Peacock.

On each of the 18 Sundays that Peacock presents a game, it will be scheduled as the exclusive home of live MLB action until 1:30 p.m. ET that day, when the remainder of the day’s schedule will begin. Peacock will also be the exclusive home of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game – featuring top minor league prospects – which will be played during All-Star Week in July at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

For steps on how to watch MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock, click here.

Peacock’s expansive programming features live sports coverage including Triple Crown horse racing, golf, INDYCAR, the USFL, Sunday Night Football, Olympic sports, Premier League, Notre Dame Football, and much more. Peacock also offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel which streams Peacock Original Brother from Another and staples like The Dan Patrick Show, Pro Football Talk Live, and The Rich Eisen Show.

2022 MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock Game Schedule

Date Time Matchup
July 17 Noon ET Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays
July 24 Noon ET Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies
July 31 Noon ET Detroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays
August 7 Noon ET Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians
August 14 Noon ET San Diego Padres at Washington Nationals
August 21 Noon ET Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians
August 28 Noon ET Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins
September 4 Noon ET Toronto Blue Jays at Pittsburgh Pirates

 

— NBC SPORTS —