While most MLB games are played on local networks, National TV takes over once in a while. There's Sunday Night Baseball (at least for this season) on ESPN, there are Saturday games on FOX, and for the last couple of years, we've had Friday night games on Apple TV.
The Apple TV experience has been up and down, I'd say, for MLB fans. On one hand, those games feature a good amount of statistics you don't often see while watching a game on a local channel, like hit probability and strikeout probability. Those statistics, however, are often overused throughout the game, and the fact that these games are exclusive to Apple TV subscribers is frustrating for some.
With all of that being said, the first slate of Apple TV games has been released, and with Opening Day less than 24 hours away as of this writing, it's time to get excited for games that count!
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MLB Apple TV schedule: Dates, matchups, and times
Note: Home team is bolded.
Matchup | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays | March 28 | 7:07 p.m. ET |
New York Mets vs. Houston Astros | March 28 | 8:10 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies | April 4 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers | April 4 | 8:05 p.m. ET |
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds | April 11 | 6:40 p.m. ET |
Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins | April 11 | 8:10 p.m. ET |
Seattle Mariners vs. Toronto Blue Jays | April 18 | 7:07 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves | April 18 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians | April 25 | 7:10 p.m. ET |
Texas Rangers vs. San Francisco Giants | April 25 | 10:10 p.m. ET |
San Diego Padres vs. Pittsburgh Pirates | May 2 | 6:40 p.m. ET |
Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers | May 2 | 8:10 p.m. ET |
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals | May 9 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
San Francisco Giants vs. Minnesota Twins | May 9 | 8:10 p.m. ET |
Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers | May 16 | 8:05 p.m. ET |
Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres | May 16 | 9:40 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets | May 23 | 7:10 p.m. ET |
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals | May 23 | 8:15 p.m. ET |
Boston Red Sox vs. Atlanta Braves | May 30 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | May 30 | 10:10 p.m. ET |
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Cincinnati Reds | June 6 | 7:10 p.m. ET |
Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers | June 6 | 7:10 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Angels vs. Baltimore Orioles | June 13 | 7:05 p.m. ET |
San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks | June 13 | 9:40 p.m. ET |
New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies | June 20 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Kansas City Royals vs. San Diego Padres | June 20 | 9:40 p.m. ET |
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles | June 27 | 7:05 p.m. ET |
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cleveland Guardians | June 27 | 7:10 p.m. ET |
Ranking the three best Apple TV matchups
3) Mets vs. Astros, March 28
The biggest move of the offseason saw the New York Mets sign Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year deal. Soto joins a Mets team fresh off an NLCS appearance eager to finish what they started last season. Their opponent is the Houston Astros, the team that might've made the biggest trade of the offseason. They sent Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in a move that appears to already be paying off considering how awesome Cam Smith looks.
This will be the second game of Soto's Mets career and the second game of Smith's MLB career. Both of these teams will be in postseason contention. How is it not must-see TV?
2) Red Sox vs. Braves, May 30
Is this a potential World Series preview? It'd be quite the jump for the Boston Red Sox to go from a .500 team to the AL Pennant Winner, but is that really out of the realm of possibility? They added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler to form a potentially elite rotation, and added Alex Bregman into an already rock-solid lineup. Those additions combined with the weak American League as a whole can absolutely lead Boston to the Fall Classic.
From the Atlanta Braves' perspective, it might be a hot take to say that a team that isn't the Dodgers will win the NL Pennant, but again, is it impossible? They won 89 games last season despite having the worst luck imaginable. Give the Braves better health and a couple of bounce back years and they'll be among the best teams in the sport.
1) Dodgers vs. Mets, May 23
The best Apple TV game of the first slate of games released features an NLCS rematch featuring the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. As much as I'd like to put the World Series rematch which is set to take place on Apple TV just one week later, it's really hard to do so given all of the injuries that the New York Yankees are dealing with.
Again, the Mets played the Dodgers in the NLCS and added Juan Soto. The Dodgers, however, got better in their own right thanks to their offseason additions, and were already the best team in the sport. The crowd should be fired up, and it should be fun to see how big of an impact Soto will have against the defending champions.