Play-by-Play Voice Jason Benetti Joined in Booth by Three-Time All-Star First Baseman John Kruk and 10-Year MLB Pitcher C.J. Nitkowski
Ahmed Fareed Hosts Pregame alongside Three-Time All-Star and Four-Time Gold Glove First Baseman Anthony Rizzo, Who Will Also Provide “Inside the Pitch” Commentary from Batter’s Perspective
Peacock “Game of the Day” Features One Out-of-Market Game Streamed Nationally Each Day – Mets-Dodgers, tonight at 10:10 p.m. ET
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 14, 2026 – World Series Champion and three-time All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo, three-time All-Star first baseman John Kruk and 10-year MLB pitcher C.J. Nitkowski join NBC Sports’ announce team for this week’s edition of Sunday Night Baseball, as 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Atlanta Braves visit two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, Sunday, April 19 at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.
The Braves (2018-23) and Phillies (2024-25) have combined to win the last eight National League East titles.
As of today, the Braves have hit 21 home runs, good for the second highest total in all of baseball. Braves’ catcher and 2025 National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin leads the league in runs (16) and is tied for second in runs batted in (17).Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber is tied for the most home runs in the MLB since the start of last season.
This week’s Sunday Night Baseball announce team features play-by-play voice Jason Benetti joined in the booth by analysts John Kruk and C.J. Nitkowski. Ahmed Fareed will host the pregame show alongside Anthony Rizzo, who will also provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary from the batter’s perspective during the game.
Kruk began his 10-season MLB career (1986-1995) with the San Diego Padres. After four years in San Diego, the first baseman was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies where he was selected to the NL All-Star team in 1991, 1992, and 1993. Kruk set career highs in home runs (21) and runs batted in (92) in 1991. In 1993 he batted .316, hit 14 home runs and drove in 85 runs, helping to lead the Phillies to the World Series, where he batted .348 as Philadelphia lost in six games to the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished his playing career with a .300 batting average. Since 2017, Kruk has been an analyst for Phillies’ game telecasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia. In the prior 13 seasons, Kruk served as a studio analyst on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight (2004-11) and a game analyst on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (2012-16).
A 10-year MLB pitcher, Nitkowski played for eight teams from 1995-2005. He pitched in 336 games for Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, New York (NL), Texas, Atlanta, New York (AL) and Washington. Before beginning his broadcast career in 2013, Nitkowski spent four seasons pitching in Japan and Korea. Currently in his third year in the Braves broadcast booth, Nitkowski this season became the lead BravesVision game analyst. Previously, he was an analyst for Texas Rangers telecasts on Bally Sports Southwest from 2017-23 where he was nominated for 11 Lone Star Emmy Awards, winning six times. He also served as a national game and studio analyst for FOX Sports from 2014-19.
A three-time MLB All-Star and four-time Gold-Glove winning first baseman, Rizzo caught the final out of the 2016 World Series for the Chicago Cubs, breaking the team’s 108-year championship drought. In 2016, Rizzo set a career high in RBI (109), was awarded a Gold Glove, earned a Silver Slugger, and won the Platinum Glove as the NL’s best overall defensive player. Over 14 seasons with the Padres, Cubs and Yankees, the lefty slugger hit 303 home runs and had four seasons with at least 100 RBIs.
In his in-game role as “Inside the Pitch” commentator, Rizzo will provide insight from the batter’s perspective during key at-bats. Rizzo will serve as an analyst for NBC Sports’ MLB coverage throughout the regular season and its exclusive MLB Postseason coverage of the Wild Card Series presented by AbbVie on NBC and Peacock.
Peacock will feature a dedicated MLB Hub, a one-stop destination for fans to access live games, team hubs and highlights. This season, baseball fans will also be able to enjoy popular Peacock features, such as Catch up with Key Plays, if they are tuning in late; Live in Browse, which displays the live game on the Peacock home page for instant context about the matchup and allows viewers to immediately join the live game presentation; and MLB Live Picks, a mobile mini-game for fans to predict the winners.
The Sunday Stretch whip-around show will also stream live on Peacock starting May 3, providing viewers with the most compelling action in real time and on replay so they won’t miss a single run or key play. In partnership with Telemundo and Universo, Peacock will provide extensive Spanish-language coverage.
Peacock “Game of the Day” (April 14 – April 22)
One out-of-market game will be streamed nationally* on Peacock nearly every day of the season. This Tuesday two-time All-Star Bo Bichette and the New York Mets square off against Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages and the Los Angeles Dodgers with first pitch set for 10:10 p.m. ET on Peacock.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game |
| Tues., April 14 | 10:10 p.m. | New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Wed., April 15 | 7:05 p.m. | Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees |
| Thurs., April 16 | 1:10 p.m. | Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers |
| Fri., April 17 | 6:10 p.m. | Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Guardians |
| Sat., April 18 | 4:10 p.m. | Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox |
| Sun., April 19 | 2:10 p.m. | Cincinnati Reds at Minnesota Twins |
| Mon., April 20 | 7:40 p.m. | Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs |
| Tues., April 21 | 9:45 p.m. | Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants |
| Wed., April 22 | 6:45 p.m. | Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals |
(*Note: The Peacock “Game of the Day” will not be available in the competing team markets, where it will be presented by the local rightsholder)
NBC SPORTS’ MLB TRADITION
NBC Sports has a distinguished history with Major League Baseball. The first-ever MLB 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.
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 iconic Postseason moments. For the 2022-23 seasons, Peacock was the exclusive home of MLB Sunday Leadoff, a first-of-its-kind Sunday morning presentation featuring a unique three-announcer broadcast booth with one analyst with expertise on each team joining the play-by-play voice.
--NBC SPORTS--
