FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 6th, 2023

TEXAS RANGERS VISIT WASHINGTON NATIONALS ON MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF THIS SUNDAY, JULY 9, AT 12:05 P.M. ET ON PEACOCK; PREGAME BEGINS AT 11:30 A.M. ET

Analysts Kevin Frandsen and C.J. Nitkowski Join Brendan Burke (Play-by-Play) in MLB Sunday Leadoff Booth

Ahmed Fareed Hosts Pregame Coverage on Peacock at 11:30 a.m. ET, Alongside Former MLB Player Gordon Beckham

SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game – Featuring Top Minor League Prospects – Streams Exclusively on Peacock this Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m. ET

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 6, 2023 – The Texas Rangers, who have the third-best record in MLB and have a league-high four position players starting in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, visit the Washington Nationals on MLB Sunday Leadoff this Sunday, July 2, at 12:05 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock.

The Rangers’ 2023 All-Star starters are catcher Jonah Heim, rookie third baseman Josh Jung, second baseman Marcus Semien, and shortstop Corey Seager, as well as pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and outfielder Adolis Garcia (AL reserve). Nationals pitcher Josiah Gray was named an NL All-Star for the first time.

Play-by-play announcer Brendan Burke will be joined in the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth from Nationals Park by analysts Kevin Frandsen and C.J. Nitkowski. Game analysis in the MLB Sunday Leadoff booth is provided each week by announcers from the participating teams.

Frandsen, a nine-year MLB veteran, spent one season with the Nationals in 2014. He currently serves as a Nationals analyst for MASN and returns to MLB Sunday Leadoff for the second time after serving as an analyst for two Nationals games last season.

Nitkowski, a first-round pick by the Reds in the 1994 MLB Draft, played for eight teams across 10 MLB seasons (1995-2005), including two seasons with the Rangers from 2002-03. He currently serves as a Bally Sports Southwest Rangers analyst and calls select games as the play-by-play voice.

This week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff coverage begins with the pregame show at 11:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. 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 and a Braves analyst on Bally Sports, will serve as this week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff pre- and postgame analyst alongside Fareed.

How to Watch:

Date Show Time (ET) Platform
Sun., July 9 MLB Sunday Leadoff Pregame 11:30 a.m. Peacock
Sun., July 9 Rangers vs. Nationals 12:05 p.m. Peacock

 

Commentators:

    • Play by Play: Brendan Burke
    • Analysts: Kevin Frandsen andJ. Nitkowski
    • Pre- and Postgame Host/In-game Reporter: Ahmed Fareed
    • Pre- and Postgame Analyst: Gordon Beckham

 

SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game

This Saturday, July 8, Peacock will exclusively stream live coverage of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, featuring top minor league prospects, at 7 p.m. ET from T-Mobile Park in Seattle. A total of 28 of the 50 players on the roster are currently ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, including six of the top 10: Orioles shortstop Jackson Holiday (No. 1), who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (No. 3), Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 4), Nationals outfielder James Wood (No. 5) Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar (No. 6), and Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 9). The National League Futures team will be managed by former MLB player Raul Ibañez, who is the MLB Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations. The American League squad will be led by two-time All-Star and current MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds.

Dave Sims will call the game on Peacock alongside analysts Yonder Alonso and Jonathan Mayo. Alonso had a 10-year MLB career and was named an All-Star in 2017. Mayo is an MLB.com draft and prospect expert. Siera Santos and Caroline Pineda will serve as in-game reporters.

Following the Futures Game, Peacock will present live coverage of the MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game at approximately 10:15 p.m. ET, featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment and pop culture as well as MLB and Mariners legends. Participants expected to play on Saturday include two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim, WWE superstar The Miz, Real Madrid player Rodrygo, Chicago Bulls player Zach LaVine, softball legend and Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch, and more.

How to Watch:

Date Show Time (ET) Platform
Sat., July 8 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game 7 p.m. Peacock
Sat., July 8 Celebrity Softball Game 10:15 p.m. Peacock

 

Commentators:

    • Play by Play: Dave Sims
    • Analysts: Yonder Alonso and Jonathan Mayo
    • Reporters: Caroline Pineda and Siera Santos

 

Beginning on 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 SVOD service in the United States, including live coverage of 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
July 8 7 p.m. SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game
July 8 10:15 p.m. MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game
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—