FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 18th, 2023

AARON JUDGE & NEW YORK YANKEES VISIT CINCINNATI REDS ON MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF THIS SUNDAY, MAY 21, AT 11:35 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK; PREGAME BEGINS AT 11 A.M. ET

Brendan Burke Makes Debut as Play-by-Play Voice of MLB Sunday Leadoff this Sunday

Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin and Todd Frazier Join Burke in Booth

NBC Sports’ Ahmed Fareed Hosts Pregame Coverage on Peacock at 11 a.m. ET, Alongside Former MLB Player Gordon Beckham

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 18, 2023 – Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees visit 2021 NL Rookie of the Year second baseman Jonathan India and the Cincinnati Reds from Great American Ball Park on MLB Sunday Leadoff this Sunday, May 21, at 11:35 a.m. ET exclusively on Peacock.

Play-by-play announcer Brendan Burke will make his debut as the voice of MLB Sunday Leadoff this Sunday. Burke, who serves as the television voice of the New York Islanders on MSG Networks and as a play-by-play commentator on NHL on TNT games, joins MLB Sunday Leadoff following his NHL Playoff assignments. Burke called select New York Yankees games on WFAN radio last season, and also served as play-by-play announcer for multiple Minor League Baseball teams earlier in his career. Beginning with NBC Sports in 2017, he served as a play-by-play voice of NHL and Premier Lacrosse League coverage and called events at two Olympics (hockey at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and rowing and canoeing during the Tokyo Olympics).

Joining Burke in the booth are analysts Barry Larkin and Todd Frazier. Game analysis in the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth is provided each week by announcers from the participating teams.

A 2012 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and 12-time All-Star shortstop, Larkin spent his entire 19-year career (1986-2004) with the Reds. He helped lead the Reds to a 1990 World Series title and was the 1995 National League MVP. Larkin was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2008 and his No. 11 jersey is retired by the club. Larkin serves as a Reds analyst on Bally Sports Ohio and returns to the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth after calling a Reds-Giants game last season (May 29, 2022).

A two-time All-Star, Frazier had an 11-year MLB career including spending five seasons with the Reds (2011-2015) and parts if the 2017 season with the Yankees. Frazier, a New Jersey native who attended Rutgers University, currently serves as a Yankees studio analyst in YES Network and previously worked as an analyst on ESPN’s coverage of the Little League World Series.

Judge, who set an American League record with 62 home runs last season, has five home runs in his last five games as the Yankees have won seven of their past 10 games.

This week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff coverage begins with the pregame show at 11 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.

Eleven-year MLB veteran Gordon Beckham, who was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft and serves as a White Sox analyst on NBC Sports Chicago, will serve as this week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff pre- and postgame analyst alongside Fareed. Beckham, who was an analyst for last week’s Angels-Guardians game, returns to MLB Sunday Leadoff after serving as a pregame and in-game analyst multiple times last season.

How to Watch:

Date Show Time (ET) Platform
Sun., May 21 MLB Sunday Leadoff Pregame 11 a.m. Peacock
Sun., May 21 Yankees vs. Reds 11:35 a.m. Peacock

 

Commentators:

    • Play by Play: Brendan Burke
    • Analysts: Barry Larkin and Todd Frazier
    • Pre- and Postgame Host/In-game Reporter: Ahmed Fareed
    • Pre- and Postgame Analyst: Gordon Beckham

 

Beginning last Sunday, April 23, when the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies hosted the Colorado Rockies from Citizens Bank Park, Peacock will stream an NBC Sports-produced baseball game live in 19 of 20 weeks. Each game will feature NBC Sports-produced pre- and post-game shows on Peacock.

On each of the 19 Sundays that Peacock presents a game, it will be scheduled as the exclusive home of live MLB action until 1:35 p.m. ET that day, when the remainder of the day’s schedule will begin. The package will include start times of 11:35 a.m. ET (six games), 12:05 p.m. ET (10 games), and 1:05 p.m. ET (three games).

The MLB Sunday Leadoff package began in 2022 with 18 exclusive Sunday morning games on Peacock, continuing NBC Sports’ storied baseball tradition. The first Major League Baseball television broadcast was a 1939 Cincinnati Reds-Brooklyn Dodgers doubleheader on W2XBS (the precursor to WNBC-TV) in New York.

NBC Sports was a home to the first World Series broadcast in 1947, the first All-Star Game nationally broadcast in 1952, and has televised 39 World Series – more than any other network. Additionally, from 1957-2000, NBC Sports was home to a wealth of baseball programming, including Game of the Week and Monday Night Baseball telecasts, more than 30 All-Star Games, and countless Postseason moments.

Peacock’s expansive programming offers the most live sports of any direct-to-consumer streaming service in the United States, featuring live coverage including Sunday Night Football, Olympic Games, Premier League, Notre Dame Football, NASCAR, NTT IndyCar Series, Big Ten football (beginning in September), and much more.  Peacock also offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel.

To learn more about Peacock and MLB Sunday Leadoff, including how to sign up, click here.

2023 MLB Sunday Leadoff Schedule on Peacock

Date Time (ET) Matchup
May 21 11:35 a.m. New York Yankees at Cincinnati Reds
May 28 11:35 a.m. Los Angeles Dodgers at Tampa Bay Rays
June 4 11:35 a.m. St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates
June 11 11:35 a.m. Arizona Diamondbacks at Detroit Tigers
June 18 1:05 p.m. Baltimore Orioles at Chicago Cubs
July 2 12:05 p.m. Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles
July 9 12:05 p.m. Texas Rangers at Washington Nationals
July 16 12:05 p.m. San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates
July 23 12:05 p.m. San Diego Padres at Detroit Tigers
July 30 12:05 p.m. Los Angeles Angels at Toronto Blue Jays
August 6 12:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians
August 13 12:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox
August 20 1:05 p.m. Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros
August 27 12:05 p.m. Los Angeles Angels at New York Mets
September 3 1:05 p.m. Philadelphia Phillies at Milwaukee Brewers

–NBC SPORTS—