ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Returns for 27th Season as Exclusive National MLB Game of the Week

· Opening Night World Series Rematch on Sunday Night Baseball Season Premiere

· Early-Season Schedule to Include Multiple Appearances by Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Red Sox & Yankees

· Astros, Diamondbacks & Pirates Return to Sundays

· Stars on New Teams; David Ortiz's Final Season to be Documented

ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell will return for its 27th season as the exclusive, national Major League Baseball Game of the Week in 2016. The prime-time, weekly platform will be home to baseball's best players and most compelling matchups throughout the season, beginning with an Opening Night World Series rematch - the World Series Champion Kansas City Royals and World Series M.V.P. Salvador Perez host the New York Mets and ace Matt Harvey - on Sunday, April 3, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell telecasts, generally starting at 8 p.m., will be available all season long on ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio and WatchESPN.

Early-season schedule highlights

· Multiple appearances by several teams expected to contend in 2016: Boston Red Sox; Los Angeles Dodgers; New York Mets; New York Yankees; and San Francisco Giants;

· Sunday Night Baseball to document Boston Red Sox icon David Ortiz's final season across four early appearances;

· The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox renew their rivalry three times, including back-to-back weeks (May 1, May 8, July 17);

· NL West rivals: Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will square off twice (April 17, June 12);

· The Pittsburgh Pirates and Andrew McCutchen to appear on Sunday Night Baseball for third consecutive season (June 12), 8th appearance since 2014;

· Special Sunday Night Baseball doubleheader on June 12: St Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates (5 p.m.); Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants (8:30 p.m.);

· The Arizona Diamondbacks, led by new ace Zack Greinke, to make first appearance since 2008 (July 10);

· The Houston Astros, led by Carlos Correa, to make first appearance since 2013 (April 24).

Early-season Sunday Night Baseball schedule:

Date Time (ET) Telecast Network(s)

Sun, Apr. 3 8:30 p.m. New York Mets at Kansas City Royals on Opening Night ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, Apr. 10 8 p.m. New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, Apr. 17 8 p.m. San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, Apr. 24 8 p.m. Boston Red Sox at Houston Astros ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, May 1 8 p.m. New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, May 8 8 p.m. Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, May 29 8 p.m. Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets ESPN2, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, June 12 5 p.m. St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, July 10 8 p.m. Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Sun, July 17 8 p.m. Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

*remaining Sunday Night Baseball game selections will be made two to three weeks out.

The Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet pre-game show will also return for the 2016 season. The one-hour show will begin at 7 p.m., recap the day in baseball and will preview the Sunday Night Baseball game that night.

ESPN will televise a star-studded, two-day, seven-game season-opening schedule, which will feature the Opening Day games for every 2015 MLB Postseason team. On Sunday, April 3, ESPN will televise two games in new afternoon windows leading into the prime-time World Series rematch on Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN will then televise an Opening Day quadruple-header beginning at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 4.

ESPN MLB season-opening schedule:

Date Time (ET) Telecast Network(s)

Sun, Apr. 3 1 p.m. St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates ESPN, WatchESPN

Sun, Apr. 3 4 p.m. Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays ESPN2, WatchESPN

Sun, Apr. 3 8:30 p.m. New York Mets at Kansas City Royals ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio

Mon, Apr. 4 1 p.m. Houston Astros at New York Yankees ESPN, WatchESPN

Mon, Apr. 4 4 p.m. Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers ESPN, WatchESPN

Mon, Apr. 4 7 p.m. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres ESPN, WatchESPN

Mon, Apr. 4 10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ESPN2, WatchESPN

ESPN Radio - in its 19th season of Major League Baseball coverage - will continue as the exclusive, national radio home of Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN Radio's weekly coverage starts at 7 p.m. and is also available on ESPNRadio.com and via the ESPNRadio app.

ESPN Deportes enters its 13th season as the Spanish-Language home to Sunday Night Baseball.

ESPN International: Sunday Night Baseball is available across Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim and on cruise ships.