ESPN to Provide Exclusive Coverage of 2021 "American League Wild Card Game Presented by Hankook Tire": New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox in Win or Go Home Game on October 5 at 8 p.m. ET
· Statcast-driven Alternate Presentation on ESPN2 with Jason Benetti, Eduardo Perez and Mike Petriello
· ESPN Radio to Nationally Broadcast Every MLB Postseason Game Starting with Wild Card Games
· Baseball Tonight Covers the Postseason Race, Wild Card and Beyond
ESPN is the exclusive home of the 2021 American League Wild Card Game Presented by Hankook Tire on Tuesday, October 5, at 8 p.m. ET as the Boston Red Sox and Rafael Devers host the New York Yankees and Aaron Judge, with Gerrit Cole vs. Nathan Eovaldi as the expected pitching matchup. The Sunday Night Baseball team of Matt Vasgersian, World Series Champion and analyst Alex Rodriguez and reporter Buster Olney will provide commentary from Fenway Park for the win or go home game on ESPN.
Baseball Tonight will lead into the AL Wild Card Game, providing hours of on-site coverage and updates beginning at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. Coverage will continue on ESPN during the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter and the 7 p.m. pregame edition of Baseball Tonight. Karl Ravech will host alongside analysts Tim Kurkjian and Eduardo Perez with contributions from Senior MLB Insider Jeff Passan.
American League Wild Card Game: Statcast Edition
There will be a Statcast-driven alternate presentation of the AL Wild Card Game on ESPN2 to accompany the traditional ESPN telecast. Jason Benetti, Perez and MLB.com Statcast Insider Mike Petriello will be on site in Boston, providing commentary driven by data and information from Statcast, including custom video and graphics. The trio will also host a Statcast edition of Baseball Tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2 leading into the Statcast alternate presentation.
This is ESPN's fourth year of Statcast-focused Wild Card alternate presentations, including the 2020 MLB Wild Card Series Presented by Hankook Tire on ESPN+, which featured both a live game and live whiparound show, and MLB Wild Card Games in 2018 and 2019.
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio will begin its 24th consecutive year of postseason coverage with play-by-play commentary of both the American League and National League Wild Card Games. Dave O'Brien and Xavier Scruggs will call the AL Wild Card Game on ESPN Radio from Boston. Jon "Boog" Sciambi and Kyle Peterson will describe the NL Wild Card Game on October 6 from site. ESPN Radio will continue broadcasting games with commentators on site through the League Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series.
SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight
SportsCenter will be providing updates from the AL Wild Card Game with reporters on site, including MLB national reporter Marly Rivera, Passan and ESPN staff writer Joon Lee, who will provide digital coverage for ESPN.com.
Tuesday's Outside The Lines segment will have an essay by Jeremy Schapp, reflecting on his personal experience of the 1978 one-game playoff between the Yankees and Red Sox, which he attended as a 9 year-old.
Baseball Tonight Wild Card coverage continues on October 6 at 6 p.m. on ESPN2, ahead of the National League Wild Card Game. Baseball Tonight will continue with insight and analysis throughout the postseason. More programming information will be available in the coming days.
"Give Us the Rivalry"
ESPN debuted a Postseason edition of its "Give Us the Rivalry" campaign for the AL Wild Card Game, showcasing the classic Yankees and Red Sox rivalry. The creative features artist Mickey Guyton's cover of the Metallica song, "Nothing Else Matters," and will run through the AL Wild Card Game.
All ESPN MLB games and programming are also available on the ESPN App.
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