Jason Benetti Joined in Booth by 2007 Cy Young Award Winner Jake Peavy and 5-Year MLB Pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith to Call Padres-Mariners 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
World Series Champions Brian Anderson and Jeff Nelson Join Matt Vasgersian to Call Marlins-Rays on MLB Sunday Leadoff at Noon ET; John Fanta Serves as Sideline Reporter
Sunday Stretch Whip-Around Show to Immediately Follow MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock
Peacock “Game of the Day” Features One Out-of-Market Game Streamed Nationally Each Day
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 12, 2026 – The first-place San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays can bolster division leads on NBC Sports’ presentations of Padres-Seattle Mariners on Sunday Night Baseball and Miami Marlins-Rays on MLB Sunday Leadoff, this Sunday, May 17, with coverage beginning at Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN.
SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL: PADRES-MARINERS (7 p.m. ET on Peacock)
Seven-time All-Star third baseman Manny Machado and the first-place San Diego Padres will visit 2025 MLB Home Run leader, catcher Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park this Sunday, at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock. 2007 NL Cy Young Award and pitching “Triple Crown” winner Jake Peavy and former Major League pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith will join play-by-play voice Jason Benetti in the booth for this week’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.
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 Padres, who are half a game ahead of the Dodgers for first place in the NL West, have dominated from the mound in the final innings of games, as closer Mason Miller leads MLB with 12 saves. Outfielder Randy Arozarena has been a sparkplug in the Mariners’ lineup as he leads the team and ranks 15th in the AL with nine doubles. The Mariners come into the week just two games out of first place in the AL West.
Peavy spent the first seven years of his 15-season career (2002-2016) with the Padres before stops with the White Sox, Red Sox, and Giants. In 2007, he was named the unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner and won the pitching “Triple Crown”, posting a 19-6 record, 2.54 ERA, and 240 strikeouts. Peavy is the only pitching “Triple Crown” winner in Padres’ history. A three-time NL All-Star (2005, 2007, 2012), Peavy won back-to-back World Series titles with the Red Sox (2013) and Giants (2014). Peavy was a 2023 inductee in the Padres Hall of Fame after finishing his career as the franchise’s all-time leader in strikeouts and returned to the organization in 2025 to serve as a special assistant to the Padres CEO. He has served as an analyst for MLB Network since 2022.
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”.
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. 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.
MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF: MARLINS-RAYS (Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN)
MLB’s leader in hits Otto Lopez and the Miami Marlins head west to visit 2025 AL All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero and the first-place Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field at Noon ET on Peacock and NBCSN. Play-by-play voice Matt Vasgersian will be joined by World Series champion pitchers Brian Anderson and Jeff Nelson, and reporter John Fanta for this week’s edition of MLB Sunday Leadoff.
Miami’s Lopez and Liam Hicks have two of the hottest bats in the Majors, as Lopez is first in the league with 55 hits and second with a .344 batting average, and Hicks ranks third with 35 RBIs. The Rays hold a two-game division lead in the AL East behind a dominant pitching staff which leads MLB in saves (18) and is fifth in ERA (3.48). Tampa Bay’s Johnathan Aranda leads the American League with 29 RBIs, while Chandler Simpson sits second in hits (49) and stolen bases (14), and fourth in batting average (.314).
Anderson began his 13-year career (1993-2005) pitching for the Angels before playing for Cleveland, the Diamondbacks, and the Royals. During his career, he made three postseason appearances and won the 2001 World Series with Arizona. After retiring in 2005, 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 as an occasional analyst 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 for his work on the Rays’ broadcast.
Nelson, a 15-year veteran relief pitcher, won four World Series titles with the Yankees (1996, 1998-2000). The former bullpen standout started his career and had three separate stints with the Mariners, while also playing for the Rangers and White Sox. Throughout his career, the righty made eight postseason appearances, including five trips to the World Series. In 2001, during his second stretch with the Mariners, Nelson recorded a 2.76 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 69 appearances and was named to the American League All-Star team. With 798 career appearances, he tallied a 48-45 record, a 3.41 ERA, and 829 strikeouts. Nelson currently serves as a TV and radio analyst for the Marlins on Marlins.TV and the Marlins Radio Network. Nelson also broadcasts on YES Network as a studio and game analyst for the Yankees.
Fanta will serve as a reporter on MLB Sunday Leadoff for the second consecutive week this Sunday. Fanta joined NBC Sports in August 2025 on a full-time basis as its lead BIG EAST basketball play-by-play voice.
SUNDAY STRETCH WHIP AROUND SHOW
NBC Sports’ Sunday Stretch whip-around show will stream live on Peacock immediately following Marlins-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 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 stream live on Peacock this Sunday, May 17, 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” (May 12 – May 20)
One out-of-market game will be streamed nationally* on Peacock nearly every day of the season. Tonight, two AL West Division rivals will square off when three-time All-Star centerfielder Julio Rodríguez and the Seattle Mariners visit three-time All-Star designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. ET on Peacock.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game |
| Tues., May 12 | 8:10 p.m. | Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros |
| Wed., May 13 | 9:40 p.m. | St. Louis Cardinals at Athletics |
| Thurs., May 14 | 7:15 p.m. | Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves |
| Fri., May 15 | 6:45 p.m. | Baltimore Orioles at Washington Nationals |
| Sat., May 16 | 2:15 p.m. | Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals |
| Sun., May 17 | 4:07 p.m. | Los Angeles Dodgers at Los Angeles Angels |
| Mon., May 18 | 9:40 p.m. | San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Tues., May 19 | 9:40 p.m. | Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners |
| Wed., May 20 | 6:40 p.m. | Cleveland Guardians at Detroit Tigers |
(*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--
