Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Apple TV's Friday Night Baseball returns with doubleheaders every week from March 27 through June, featuring exclusive broadcasts.
- The schedule includes high-stakes matchups like division rivals facing off and cross-town rivals clashing in front of passionate fans.
- These exclusive games promise to deliver drama, rivalry intensity, and showcase some of the league's best teams in a unique streaming format.
The good news: Baseball is officially back! The bad news: If you want to watch all of your favorite team's games this year, it's going to cost you more than ever — both in terms of money and in terms of brain space as you attempt to keep track of all the subscription services required for MLB's various rights deals.
This season, like the last few, will feature a Friday night doubleheader on Apple TV. They've been an up-and-down entry into the baseball landscape: On the one hand, their broadcasts do feature some cool new bells and whistles; on the other, not all their experiments have been successful (you don't. need a stat for everything, I promise) and the exclusivity has boxed out some fans.
And yet, this is the reality of following baseball in the year of our lord 2026. The full slate of Apple TV games has been released, and ahead of the first Friday Night Baseball of the season on March 27, here's everything to know.
MLB Apple TV schedule: Dates, matchups, and times
Matchup | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros | March 27 | 8:15 p.m. ET |
Cleveland Guardians at Seattle Mariners | March 27 | 9:45 p.m. ET |
Milwaukee Brewers at Kansas City Royals | April 3 | 7:45 p.m. ET |
Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks | April 3 | 9:45 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Angels at Cincinnati Reds | April 10 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
San Francisco Giants at Baltimore Orioles | April 10 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Tampa Bay Rays at Pittsburgh Pirates | April 17 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox | April 17 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves | April 24 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers | April 24 | 10:15 p.m. ET |
Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates | May 1 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
Kansas City Royals at Seattle Mariners | May 1 | 9:45 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Guardians | May 8 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres | May 8 | 9:45 p.m. ET |
Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers | May 15 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
New York Yankees at New York Mets | May 15 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs | May 22 | 2:20 p.m. ET |
Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles | May 22 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Twins at Pittsburgh Pirates | May 29 | 6:45 p.m. ET |
Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers | May 29 | 10:15 p.m. ET |
Cleveland Guardians at Texas Rangers | June 5 | 8:15 p.m. ET |
Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins | June 5 | 8:15 p.m. ET |
Arizona Diamonbacks at Cincinnati Reds | June 12 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
Atlanta Braves at New York Mets | June 12 | 7:15 p.m. ET |
St. Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals | June 19 | 8:15 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Twins at Arizona Diamondbacks | June 19 | 9:45 p.m. ET |
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers | June 26 | 7:45 p.m. ET |
San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers | June 26 | 9:45 p.m. ET |
Every Friday night from late March through late June will feature a doubleheader on Apple TV, available exclusively to Apple TV subscribers. Wayne Randazzo, Dontrelle Willis and Heidi Watney are back as one broadcast team, with Alex Faust, Ryan Spilborghs and Tricia Whitaker on the call for the other.
How to watch MLB on Apple TV in 2026
You can watch Friday Night Baseball by opening your Apple TV app and searching "MLB," or selecting a given game from the homepage. But be warned: This feature is only available for Apple TV subscribers. The service currently costs $12.99 month, although they do offer a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. (You can also get three months of free Apple TV with the purchase of a new iPhone, iPad or Mac.)
Ranking the three best Apple TV matchups in 2026
3. Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers (June 26)
It's not just that these two teams are likely to be battling it out once again atop the NL Central. It's that they really, really don't like each other — and not just in a sports rivalry sort of way.
Ever since Chicago poached Craig Counsell from Milwaukee, this has felt a bit personal, even more so after the Brewers pantsed the Cubs down the stretch last season to run away with the division. Chicago is riding high after a big offseason that saw them sign Alex Bregman and acquire righty Edward Cabrera, while Milwaukee's biggest headline was sending Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets. And yet, the Brewers always seem to find a way to be a thorn in the side of the NL's biggest markets.
2. Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers (May 29)
Philly's loss to the Dodgers in last year's NLDS — a third straight postseason flameout after making it all the way to the World Series in 2022 — nearly sent the Phillies into an existential crisis this offseason, with precious little in the way of upgrades and Bryce Harper getting into a public spat with president Dave Dombrowski.
The vibes are considerably better in L.A. right now, with Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz joining the back-to-back defending champs. Still, these are two of the best rosters in the league, and this could be a preview of another playoff series down the line.
1. New York Yankees at New York Mets (May 15)
The wound still hasn't quite healed from Juan Soto's crosstown jump from the Bronx to Queens, which would give this Subway Series plenty of juice even if both the Yankees and Mets hadn't started their regular seasons with a bang. But the fact that these might be two of the three or four bets teams in the league this year just adds to the fun, with Peralta and Bo Bichette added to the festivities in front of a raucous Citi Field crowd.