FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 17th, 2022

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS HOST CHICAGO WHITE SOX IN PIVOTAL AL CENTRAL SHOWDOWN ON MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 LIVE AT NOON ET ON PEACOCK; PREGAME BEGINS AT 11:30 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK

First-Place Guardians and White Sox Separated by One-Game in Tight American League Central Divisional Race

Rick Manning (Guardians Analyst) and Steve Stone (White Sox 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 & Cy Young Winner CC Sabathia

STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 17, 2022 – All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez and the first-place Cleveland Guardians host 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu and the Chicago White Sox in a crucial divisional showdown from Progressive Field on MLB Sunday Leadoff live this Sunday, August 21 at Noon ET on Peacock.

As the MLB playoff race heats up, the Guardians (62-55) hold a one-game lead over the White Sox (61-56) and the Twins (60-55) in a tight AL Central division. The White Sox also currently sit one game outside of the final American League Wild Card spot.

Play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti will be joined in this week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff booth by analysts Rick Manning (Guardians analyst) and Steve Stone (White Sox analyst). Benetti will be joined in the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth each week by local analysts from the participating teams.

Stone, a former MLB pitcher from 1971-81 and the 1980 Cy Young Award winner, is a White Sox analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, working alongside Benetti. He returns to the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth after serving as an analyst on the White Sox-Red Sox game on May 8, which was the debut game of the MLB Sunday Leadoff package.

Manning, a 13-year MLB veteran, spent eight-plus seasons (1975-83) with Cleveland and won a Gold Glove in 1976 as a centerfielder. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1972 MLB draft. Manning currently serves as a Guardians analyst for Bally Sports Great Lakes and previously served as an analyst on MLB Sunday Leadoff for the Guardians-Astros game on August 4 and the Guardians-Athletics game on June 8.

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.

CC Sabathia, the 2007 Cy Young Award-winner and 19-year MLB veteran, including seven-plus seasons with Cleveland, will join Fareed as an analyst on the MLB Sunday Leadoff pre- and postgame shows. Sabathia, who was drafted by Cleveland in the first round of the 1998 MLB Draft, was a six-time All-Star, earned 251 career wins, and is one of three left-handed pitchers in Major League history with at least 3,000 strikeouts (Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson). Sabathia currently co-hosts the R2C2 podcast and returns to MLB Sunday Leadoff after serving as an analyst when the Yankees hosted the Tigers on June 5.

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

How to Watch:

Date Show Time (ET) Platform
Sun., Aug. 21 MLB Sunday Leadoff Pregame 11:30 a.m. Peacock
Sun., Aug. 21 White Sox vs. Guardians Noon Peacock

 

Commentators:

    • Play by Play: Jason Benetti
    • Analysts: Rick Manning and Steve Stone
    • Pre- and Postgame Host/In-game Reporter: Ahmed Fareed
    • Pre- and Postgame Analyst: CC Sabathia

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 was also the exclusive home of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game – featuring top minor league prospects – which was 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.

2022 MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock Game Schedule

Date Time Matchup
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 —