The MLB Network today announced its live game schedule for the 2012 regular season opener through Friday, May 4. The schedule features the return of 30 Games, 30 Clubs, 30 Days, a package of 30 live games featuring all 30 Clubs, beginning with the only prime time matchup scheduled for Opening Day on Thursday, April 5, as 2011 N.L. Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw takes the ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres in the Padres’ home opener at 7:00 p.m. ET. The 30 Games, 30 Clubs, 30 Days schedule features eight home openers, including the 2011 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals hosting their division rival Chicago Cubs on Friday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Nine matinee games and two Tuesday night doubleheaders will be featured, including the 2011 A.L. Champion Texas Rangers taking on the Boston Red Sox on April 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET, followed by the 2011 N.L. East Champion Philadelphia Phillies matching up against the San Francisco Giants. The game schedule also includes the debut of MLB Network Showcase presented by Chevrolet, a series of MLB Network-produced games, that starts with an N.L. East matchup between the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s Bob Costas and Jim Kaat, who were each nominated for a 2011 Sports Emmy Award, will call the game live from Citizens Bank Park. To commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Fenway Park, MLB Network Showcase will feature the Boston Red Sox hosting their division rival New York Yankees on Friday, April 20 at 3:00 p.m. ET with MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz calling the game. Pregame coverage will start with a special live edition of Intentional Talk, hosted by Chris Rose and Kevin Millar, at 1:00 p.m. ET from Fenway Park.
MLB Tonight will continue to air live seven days a week this season, including extended coverage on Sunday’s beginning on April 8 at 12:00 p.m. ET. “FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL Pregame Show,” a co-production between MLB Network and FOX Sports, premieres Saturday, April 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET. For the season opener, host Matt Vasgersian will be joined by analysts Kevin Millar and Harold Reynolds. Week 1 coverage on FOX Sports features the Boston Red Sox at the Detroit Tigers, the St. Louis Cardinals at the Milwaukee Brewers, the San Francisco Giants at the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the Kansas City Royals.
You can find MLB Network’s complete game schedule through May 4 here. Games will be blacked out in each team’s home television territory unless otherwise announced. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will be provided with an alternate game telecast or other programming.
MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, featuring the Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight, live games, original programming, highlights, and insights and analysis from the best in the business, including Bob Costas, Peter Gammons, Jim Kaat, Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds. MLB Network debuted on January 1, 2009 as the largest launch in cable television history and is currently distributed in approximately 68 million cable, telco TV and satellite homes throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
