Jason Benetti Joined in Booth by 2005 World Series Champion Geoff Blum and Former Seattle Pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith to Call Mariners-Astros on Sunday Night Baseball at 7 p.m. ET
Ahmed Fareed Hosts Sunday Night Baseball Pregame with 2016 World Series Champion and Four-Time Gold Glove First Baseman Anthony Rizzo, who will also Provide “Inside the Pitch” Commentary from Batter’s Perspective
Two-Time All-Star 3B Junior Caminero and the First-Place Tampa Bay Rays Host Five-Time All-Star 1B Pete Alonso and AL East Rival Baltimore Orioles on MLB Sunday Leadoff at Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN
2001 World Series Champion Pitcher Brian Anderson and Two-Time All-Star 2B Brian Roberts Join Dave Flemming on Call of Orioles-Rays; Ashley ShahAhmadi Serves as Sideline Reporter
Sunday Stretch Whip-Around Show to Immediately Follow MLB Sunday Leadoff; Peacock “Game of the Day” Features One Out-of-Market Game Streamed Nationally
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 11, 2026 – Yordan Alvarez, Julio Rodríguez, Pete Alonso, and Junior Caminero headline NBC Sports MLB coverage this Sunday highlighted by the first-place Houston Astros facing the Seattle Mariners, who are 4.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West, on Sunday Night Baseball at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Coverage opens at Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN when the first-place Tampa Bay Rays host the Baltimore Orioles on MLB Sunday Leadoff.
SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL: MARINERS-ASTROS (7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock)
AL Triple Crown leader Yordan Alvarez and the first-place Houston Astros host three-time All-Star centerfielder Julio Rodríguez and the rival Seattle Mariners in an AL West matchup at Daikin Park this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Play-by-play voice Jason Benetti will call Mariners-Astros on Sunday Night Baseball alongside 2005 World Series champion Geoff Blum and former Seattle pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith.
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.
The first-place Astros, playing on Sunday Night Baseball for the second consecutive week, hold a half-game lead in the AL West. Alvarez leads the American League with 35 home runs, a .323 batting average, and 86 RBI, powering a Houston lineup that ranks third in the Majors with 162 home runs. The Mariners are 4.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West and four games out of an AL Wild Card berth. Outfielder Randy Arozarena leads Seattle and ranks in the top 15 in the AL in runs scored (73 – 5th), doubles (24 - T-8th), batting average (.276 – T-13th), and hits (113 - T-13th).
A 14-year MLB veteran, Blum debuted with the Montreal Expos in 1999 before playing for the Astros, Rays, Padres, White Sox, and Diamondbacks. The switch-hitter won the 2005 World Series with the Chicago White Sox and delivered the go-ahead home run in the top of the 14th inning of Game 3 against the Astros — the longest game in World Series history at the time. Across 1,389 games, he recorded 990 hits, 206 doubles, 99 home runs, 479 RBI, and 446 runs scored. One of baseball’s top utility players during his career, Blum appeared at all four infield positions in nine consecutive seasons from 2000-08. Blum is in his 14th season as an analyst for Astros telecasts and has won five Lone Star Emmy Awards for his work with Space City Home Network. He will make his second consecutive Sunday Night Baseball appearance following Astros-Padres last Sunday, Aug. 9.
Rowland-Smith spent four of his five MLB seasons with the Mariners (2007-2010) as both a starting pitcher and reliever. In 2017, Rowland-Smith joined Root Sports Northwest as an analyst, appearing on pregame and postgame coverage for Mariners broadcasts. Since then, he has been featured as a TV and radio analyst for select Mariners games for Mariners.TV and the Mariners Radio Network. Rowland-Smith has also been featured on MLB Network and hosts his weekly Mariners podcast “The Top Step.” This Sunday marks Rowland-Smith’s third Sunday Night Baseball broadcast this season (Guardians-Mariners on March 29 and Padres-Mariners on May 17).
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 RBI. Rizzo will serve as an analyst for NBC Sports’ MLB coverage throughout the regular season and its exclusive MLB Postseason coverage of all Wild Card games on NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN. Rizzo will make his 10th Sunday Night Baseball appearance of the season this weekend.
MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF: ORIOLES-RAYS (Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN)
Two-time All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero and the first-place Tampa Bay Rays face five-time All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso and the division rival Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field this Sunday at Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN. 2001 World Series champion Brian Anderson, two-time All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts, and reporter Ashley ShahAhmadi join play-by-play voice Dave Flemming on this week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff announce team.
The Rays hold a six-game lead in the AL East and pace the American League in wins (72), batting average (.259), hits (1,023), and saves (48). Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz ranks second in the league with 134 hits and third with a .302 batting average, while first baseman Jonathan Aranda is sixth with 73 RBI. Caminero ranks second in the AL with 34 home runs, third with a .917 OPS, and fifth with 74 RBI. The Orioles are three games behind the Texas Rangers for an AL Wild Card berth. Alonso ranks third in the AL in RBI (75) and sixth in runs scored (72), while shortstop Gunnar Henderson is ninth in the league with 68 runs.
Anderson began his 13-year career (1993-2005) pitching for the Angels before playing for Cleveland, the Diamondbacks, and the Royals. He has three postseason appearances and won the 2001 World Series with Arizona. After his playing career, Anderson joined the Rays coaching staff, serving as an assistant to pitching coach Jim Hickey, and worked in the team’s front office during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He began broadcasting for the Rays in 2008, before becoming the team’s full-time TV analyst in 2011 on Rays.TV. In 2021, Anderson received a Suncoast Sports Emmy Award.
Roberts debuted with the Orioles in 2001, playing 13 seasons with the club before one year with the Yankees (2014). A two-time All-Star (2005 and 2007), he led the American League in doubles in 2004 (50) and 2009 (56), and in stolen bases in 2007 (50). Roberts retired with 1,527 hits, 367 doubles, 542 RBI, 285 stolen bases, and a .347 on-base percentage. Since 2018, Roberts has served as an analyst for Orioles telecasts and radio broadcasts on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and the Orioles Radio Network.
ShahAhmadi will serve as a reporter on MLB Sunday Leadoff on Sunday, after serving as a courtside reporter for NBC Sports’ NBA coverage this past season. Previously, she covered the NBA on TNT and college football with ESPN.
Major League Baseball and NBC Sports announced the debut of Road to the Show, a new five-episode documentary series providing unprecedented access to six of baseball’s brightest young stars as they navigate the path to professional baseball’s biggest stage. All five episodes are available now on Peacock.
Produced by MLB Network and narrated by baseball content creator and YouTuber Dan Sarmiento (DSARM), Road to the Show features some of the game’s most exciting young talent, including Braden Montgomery (Chicago White Sox), Gage Wood (Philadelphia Phillies/Reading Fightin’ Phils-AA), Jesús Made (Milwaukee Brewers/Biloxi Shuckers-AA), the No. 1 overall prospect, and Ethan Holliday (Colorado Rockies/Fresno Grizzlies Single-A), alongside 2026 first-round picks Roch Cholowsky (White Sox) and Justin Lebron (Reds).
SUNDAY STRETCH WHIP-AROUND SHOW
NBC Sports’ Sunday Stretch whip-around show will stream live on Peacock immediately following Orioles-Rays on MLB Sunday Leadoff. Produced in collaboration with the Emmy Award-winning MLB Network, the show will feature look-ins at all the compelling live action around Major League Baseball in real time and on replay every Sunday, so viewers don’t miss a single run or key play.
Peacock offers a dedicated MLB Hub, a one-stop destination for fans to access live games, team hubs, and highlights. This season, baseball fans can 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 stream live on Peacock this Sunday, Aug. 16, following MLB Sunday Leadoff, 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” (Aug. 11 – Aug. 19)
One out-of-market game will be streamed nationally* on Peacock nearly every day of the season. Tonight, seven-time All-Star third baseman Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres host three-time All-Star catcher William Contreras and the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m. ET on Peacock.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game |
| Tues., Aug. 11 | 9:40 p.m. | Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | 1:40 p.m. | Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins |
| Thurs., Aug. 13 | 2:10 p.m. | Cincinnati Reds at Chicago White Sox |
| Fri., Aug. 14 | 7:15 p.m. | Arizona Diamondbacks at Atlanta Braves |
| Fri., Aug. 14 | 9:40 p.m. | Texas Rangers at Athletics |
| Sat., Aug. 15 | 9:38 p.m. | Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Angels |
| Sun., Aug. 16 | 1:35 p.m. | Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Tues., Aug. 18 | 6:35 p.m. | New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles |
| Wed., Aug. 19 | 2:20 p.m. | Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs |
(*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)
National Baseball Hall of Famer CC Sabathia and Ahmed Fareed star in NBC Sports’ new weekly digital video series, MLB According to CC. On each episode, Sabathia and Fareed will discuss big-picture storylines and spotlight the week’s most exciting and intriguing events around baseball. Among the unique segments featured in the series: “CC’s Clubhouse” will highlight anecdotes from his playing days, while “Show Me Something” will preview MLB’s weekend slate of games and highlight key players across the league. The show’s “newstalgia” storytelling will bridge legends of baseball’s past with today’s rising stars.
New episodes are available to stream every Wednesday on the Peacock MLB Hub, NBC Sports YouTube Channel, NBCSports.com, and all major podcast platforms.
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--
