NBC Sports’ MLB Wild Card Conference Call Today (Mon., Sept. 28) at 3 p.m. ET with Jason Benetti, Anthony Rizzo, and Joey Votto
Matt Olson (41 HRs, T-6th in MLB) and NL East Champion Atlanta Braves Host Kyle Schwarber (45 HR, T-1st in MLB) and Philadelphia Phillies at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
Yordan Alvarez (MLB-Best .316 Avg., 42 HRs) and AL West Champion Houston Astros Host Munetaka Murakami (35 HRs in Rookie Season) and Chicago White Sox at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN
Cam Schlittler (AL-Best 1.95 ERA) and New York Yankees Host Sonny Gray (18 Wins, 2.72 ERA) and Division-Rival Boston Red Sox at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
Pete Crow-Armstrong (45 HR, 107 RBI) and Chicago Cubs Visit Manny Machado (30 HR) and San Diego Padres in Nightcap at 10 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 28, 2026 – NBC Sports’ exclusive, star-studded coverage of the MLB Wild Card Series presented by AbbVie begins tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 29, featuring the storied Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in primetime, division rivalries, superstars Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Schwarber, Yordan Alvarez, Manny Machado, Matt Olson, and Munetaka Murakami, and wall-to-wall coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN.
The 2026 MLB Wild Card Series will feature up to 12 games across four best-of-three series. Each day, two games will be on NBC/Peacock, and two matchups will be on Peacock/NBCSN. All four series — two in the American League and two in the National League — will play Games 1 and 2 tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 29, and Wednesday, Sept. 30, respectively, with a decisive Game 3, if necessary, on Thursday, Oct. 1.
The four-game slates on Tuesday and Wednesday begin with the NL East champion Atlanta Braves hosting the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, followed by the Chicago White Sox visiting the AL West champion Houston Astros at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN. In primetime, the historic Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees rivalry is renewed as the AL East foes meet in the Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year and the seventh time overall in the postseason at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The Chicago Cubs visit the San Diego Padres in the nightcap at 10 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN. The schedule for Thursday’s Game 3s, if necessary, will be determined on Wednesday.
Universo will provide Spanish-language coverage of Phillies at Braves tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET, and the first three games on Wednesday. SAP for all games will be provided on Peacock.
Tomorrow and Wednesday, Ahmed Fareed will host the pregame show on Peacock and NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET, and a postgame show following the conclusion of Cubs-Padres from NBC Sports studios in Stamford, Conn., alongside Hall of Famer CC Sabathia and former All-Star first baseman Eric Hosmer. Bob Costas will be on-site at Yankee Stadium for pregame coverage alongside Anthony Rizzo.
MLB WILD CARD SERIES CONFERENCE CALL – Today, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. ET
Jason Benetti, Anthony Rizzo, Joey Votto and senior producer Matt Borzello will preview NBC Sports’ exclusive coverage of the MLB Wild Card Series on a media conference call today at 3 p.m. ET.
Media interested in participating should call 201-689-8852; Passcode: NBC Sports
NBC SPORTS’ MLB WILD CARD SERIES PRESENTED BY ABBVIE SCHEDULE
**All Times ET**
Date | Time | Game | Platforms | Play-by-play | Analyst(s) | Reporter |
| Tues., Sept. 29 & Wed., Sept. 30 | 1:30 p.m. | Pregame Show | Peacock/NBCSN | Ahmed Fareed | CC Sabathia; Eric Hosmer | -- |
2 p.m. | Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves | NBC/Peacock | Matt Vasgersian | John Kruk, C.J. Nitkowski, Joey Votto** | Ashley ShahAhmadi | |
5 p.m. | Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros | Peacock/NBCSN | Tom McCarthy | Steve Stone, Geoff Blum, Adam Ottavino** | Britney Eurton | |
8 p.m. | Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees | NBC/Peacock | Jason Benetti | Lou Merloni, Joe Girardi, Anthony Rizzo** | Caroline Pineda | |
10 p.m. | Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres | Peacock/NBCSN | Dave Flemming | Jim Deshaies, Mark Grant, Clayton Kershaw** | John Fanta | |
| Thurs., Oct. 1 | TBD | Game 3s (if necessary) | TBD | -- | -- | -- |
** “Inside the Pitch” analyst
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES-ATLANTA BRAVES (2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock)
Four-time All-Star first baseman Matt Olson and the Atlanta Braves (94-68) host four-time All-Star Kyle Schwarber and the Philadelphia Phillies (88-74) at Truist Park at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, opening NBC Sports’ MLB Wild Card Series coverage. Play-by-play voice Matt Vasgersian will call Phillies-Braves alongside former Atlanta pitcher C.J. Nitkowski, three-time All-Star John Kruk, and reporter Ashley ShahAhmadi. During crucial at-bats in the series, 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto will provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary from the batter’s perspective.
- This will be the fourth postseason series between the Braves and Phillies and their first meeting since Philadelphia defeated Atlanta, 3-1, in the 2023 NLDS. The Phillies have won each of the teams’ three previous postseason matchups.
- Olson finished third in MLB with 75 extra-base hits, including 41 home runs (T-6th in MLB) and 34 doubles (T-10th in MLB).
- This season, the Phillies led MLB pitching staffs with 1,577 strikeouts and ranked second with 75 quality starts.
- Schwarber tied for the MLB lead with 45 home runs while posting team highs in slugging percentage (.503) and RBI (97).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX-HOUSTON ASTROS (5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN)
Four-time All-Star Yordan Alvarez and the AL West champion Houston Astros (81-81) host 2026 All-Star Munetaka Murakami and the Chicago White Sox (84-78) at 5 p.m. ET from Daikin Park on Peacock and NBCSN. 2005 World Series champion Geoff Blum, 1980 AL Cy Young award winner Steve Stone, and reporter Britney Eurton join play-by-play voice Tom McCarthy on the call of White Sox-Astros. Fifteen-year MLB relief pitcher Adam Ottavino will provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary, giving viewers insight into the pitcher’s throw-by-throw approach against a hitter.
- The Astros and White Sox meet in the postseason for the third time and in the Wild Card Series for the first time. Chicago swept Houston, 4-0, in the 2005 World Series, with analyst Geoff Blum hitting the game-winning home run in the 14th inning of Game 3.
- The White Sox make their first postseason appearance since 2021 and are just the fourth team in MLB history to reach the playoffs after losing 100 games the previous season.
- Chicago’s offense led the AL with 740 RBI and ranked third with 211 home runs, powered by All-Stars Murakami and third baseman Miguel Vargas, whose 35 and 33 homers, respectively, both ranked among the league’s top 10.
- Houston designated hitter Alvarez led the majors in batting average (.316) and OPS (1.033), while finishing second in the AL with 42 home runs and 106 RBI.
BOSTON RED SOX-NEW YORK YANKEES (8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock)
2026 All-Star pitcher Cam Schlittler and the New York Yankees (93-68) host AL wins leader Sonny Gray and the Boston Red Sox (87-75) at 8 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium on NBC and Peacock. Play-by-play voice Jason Benetti will join former Yankees manager and four-time World Series champion Joe Girardi, former Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni, and reporter Caroline Pineda on the call of Red Sox-Yankees. 2016 World Series champion Anthony Rizzo will provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary from the batter’s perspective during the series.
- New York and Boston meet in the postseason for the seventh time, including their third matchup in the Wild Card Series following meetings in 2021 and 2025. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 2-1, in last year’s AL Wild Card Series, clinching the series in a decisive Game 3 behind Schlittler’s 12-strikeout performance.
- Ben Rice paced New York’s offense, ranking second in the AL in slugging percentage (.534), third in OPS (.897), and fourth in RBI (97) and home runs (41).
- On the mound, Schlittler led the AL with a 1.95 ERA and ranked top-five in WHIP (0.92; 2nd), strikeouts (239; T-2nd), quality starts (20; T-2nd), and wins (14; T-4th).
- Gray paced Boston’s starting rotation with an AL-high 18 wins, while his 2.72 ERA ranked fifth in the league.
CHICAGO CUBS-SAN DIEGO PADRES (10 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN)
Two-time All-Star centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs (89-73) square off against seven-time All-Star third baseman Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres (91-71) at Petco Park in the MLB Wild Card Series nightcap at 10 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN. Former Padres pitcher Mark Grant, 12-year MLB pitcher Jim Deshaies, and reporter John Fanta will join play-by-play voice Dave Flemming to call Cubs-Padres. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will also provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary during the series, offering insight into the pitcher’s throw-by-throw approach against a hitter.
- The Padres and Cubs meet in the Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year and for the third time overall in the postseason. Last season, Chicago defeated San Diego, 2-1, at Wrigley Field in the NL Wild Card.
- Machado paced the Padres with 30 home runs, tied for ninth in the NL, while outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. ranked among MLB’s top 10 in hits (181; 3rd) and stolen bases (38; 6th) this season.
- During the regular season, Chicago led MLB with 804 RBI and ranked third with 220 home runs and sixth with 1,398 hits.
- Crow-Armstrong led the Cubs and ranked top 10 in MLB in home runs (45), RBI (107), stolen bases (41), triples (eight), and hits (175).
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--
