Ranking the top five ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ matchups

1. New York Mets vs. New York Yankees

Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx after one season with the Yankees will be spectacular. After a long offseason of speculation and hope, Soto broke the hearts of Yankees fans by signing with the crosstown rivals.

It will be intriguing to see what kind of welcome Soto gets from the infamous bleacher creatures in right field when he trots out there for the bottom of the 1st inning.

2. New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The last times these two teams met it ended in the Dodgers hoisting the World Series trophy and the Yankees surely haven’t forgotten about that. 

Both teams have added star left-handed pitchers in the offseason with the Yankees adding Max Fried and the Dodgers landing Blake Snell. Both teams also continue to be active in the free-agent market and could feature even more pitching with the Yankees pursuing Jack Flaherty and the Dodgers pursuing Roki Sasaki.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets

As you can tell, ESPN will feature teams such as the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees frequently. This is a rematch of the 2024 NLCS. That series saw the Dodgers come away with a 4-2 series victory on their way to winning the World Series.

Mets fans still have nightmares about Tommy Edman, the NLCS MVP, and you can expect a thunderous chorus of boos from the crowd when he steps to the plate. There is potential for former teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Kodai Senga to face off on the mound.

4. Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres

Another rematch from the 2024 playoffs, Atlanta will return to San Diego, where it was eliminated from the postseason. 

The game will feature the stars from San Diego in Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis and Xander Bogaerts. Atlanta will look for bounce back seasons from Matt Olson and Austin Riley. The warm air in San Diego should make for a high-scoring series.

5. Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs

A little less than a month into the season is usually not long enough to make evaluations of teams, but with these two clubs, it very well may be.

Philadelphia has improved its pitching rotation with the acquisition of left-hander Jesus Luzardo. They also increased outfield depth with the signing of longtime Twins outfielder Max Kepler.

Chicago has been busy in the offseason, with its biggest move being the trade for former Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker.  

The Cubs have signed several pitchers, including Colin Rea and Matthew Boyd, just to name a couple. This will be a make-or-break season for a Chicago team that has struggled to get to the 85-win mark in the last several years.

With more games set to be announced, the schedule is setting up to be one of the best Sunday night schedules in some time.