MLB guide
Baseball, every day of the season
No sport fills the summer calendar like baseball. Opening Day arrives in late March, and from then until the last weekend of September there is hardly a day without a game, followed by a month of postseason. This page brings them together: a game already in progress goes to the top with a LIVE tag, and the following days come after it, each date with its own heading and first pitches in time order.
Baseball follows the site-wide rule for streams. The Watch buttons for a game unlock one hour before its scheduled first pitch, and the game page shows the time they open until then.
From spring training to the World Series
The regular season
Every club plays 162 games. Teams meet in series of two, three or four games, so the same pairing can come up several days running, with a separate game page each day. Mondays and Thursdays are the usual travel days, which is why those dates often carry a shorter list.
Spring training games are played in Florida and Arizona through late February and March, before Opening Day. In mid-July the All-Star Game brings a break of several days with no regular-season baseball at all.
Rain, delays and doubleheaders
Weather is what moves baseball games most often. A delay pushes back the first pitch, and a postponed game is usually made up later, often as one half of a doubleheader. Here the LIVE tag goes on at the scheduled time whether or not anyone has thrown a pitch, so during a delay a stream may show a tarp on the field and the broadcast crew filling time.
The postseason
The postseason field is twelve clubs, half from the American League and half from the National League. In each league the top two division winners by record get a bye through the opening round, while the remaining four play a Wild Card Series that ends when one side wins twice, with every game at the higher seed's park. The Division Series goes to three wins. Both pennant rounds, the American and National League Championship Series, go to four, and so does the World Series, which finishes in late October or early November.
October start times are set around television and sometimes confirmed only the day before. On a day with four games, first pitches can run from early afternoon into the evening.
First-pitch times
| Game | Usual first pitch (ET) |
|---|---|
| Weekday afternoon, often the last game of a series | Around 1:00 PM in the East, up to about 4:10 PM out West |
| Night game, Eastern parks | 6:35 PM to 7:15 PM |
| Night game, Central parks | 7:40 PM to 8:10 PM |
| Night game, Colorado and the West Coast | 8:40 PM to 10:10 PM |
| Weekend afternoon | 1:05 PM to 4:10 PM |
Since the pitch clock arrived in 2023, most nine-inning games end in under three hours, and the LIVE tag on this page lasts three hours from the scheduled first pitch. Extra innings or a long delay can carry a game past that point. The tag then reads Ended while play goes on, but the Watch buttons on the game page still work.
Tips for following baseball here
- Day games are easy to miss. Before you settle on an evening game, glance at the top of the date for an afternoon start, especially on the last day of a series.
- Some rows say whose broadcast they carry, such as the home team's or the visitors' local feed. Pick the side whose announcers you like.
- West Coast night games start after 9:30 PM ET. Leave the page open in the evening and the rows will be ready at the unlock time.
- Between the end of the World Series and the start of spring training, this page is usually empty. That is the off-season, not a fault.
MLB questions
Why does the same matchup appear on several days?
Because baseball is played in series. A three-game set between two clubs puts the same pairing on the list three days running, each game with its own page and start time.
The game shows LIVE, but all I see is a covered field. Now what?
That is a rain delay. Keep the tab open; the broadcast carries on, and play returns on the same stream when the grounds crew is done.
When can I open the streams for a 7:05 PM game?
At 6:05 PM ET. Every row unlocks at that moment, and if the page is already open it refreshes itself shortly afterward.
Is the postseason on this page?
Yes. Every round is covered, Wild Card Series included, through the last out of the World Series, with each game filed by date as soon as its streams are ready.
