MLB Network Going All In On "Rivalry Week"

With key division matchups on deck all this week around baseball, MLB Network is going all in on its live game coverage. Being branded as "rivalry week," the network is giving viewers coverage of several matchups all week, beginning Monday.

With the new, balanced schedule in baseball this year, fans are getting to see intriguing matchups that they aren't used to seeing. That's very fun for fans, of course, but there's nothing quite like key divisional matchups which can help make or break divisional races later in the season.

With several important divisional matchups going on this week, the MLB Network is branding this as "rivalry week" and is going all in on its live game coverage.

From an MLB Network press release:

RIVALRY WEEK ON MLB NETWORK:

• Monday, May 1 - Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets at 1 p.m. ET

• Atlanta and New York play the first game of today’s doubleheader in their first series of 2023, following the Braves overtaking the Mets during the final regular season weekend of 2022 to win the NL East.

• Friday, May 5 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres at 9:30 p.m. ET

• Los Angeles and San Diego meet for the first time in 2023 after Padres defeated the 111-win Dodgers to win the 2022 NLDS in four games. Since the start of 2020, the Dodgers have won 32 of 48 regular season meetings against the Padres, including 14 of 19 last season.

• Saturday, May 6 – New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays at 4 p.m. ET (Joined In Progress)

• Ever since CC Sabathia and Jesus Sucre ratcheted the passion up between New York and Tampa Bay in September 2018, the intensity continues to build. New York looks to slow down the Rays’ historic start to the season during their first series of the year.

• Saturday, May 6 – Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners at 9:30 p.m. ET (Joined In Progress)

• Featuring their first series in 2023, Seattle looks to change the tide against Houston, as the Astros are 60-29 against the Mariners since the start of 2018, including last year’s ALDS sweep. It was one of the closet Division Series in recent memory, despite the sweep with the Astros posting a +4 run differential across the three games.

In addition to the rivalry games, the Casamigos Tequila MLB Network Showcase has Matt Vasgersian (play-by-play), Tom Verducci (analyst) and Jon Morosi (reporter) calling an AL East tilt featuring the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox this Wednesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. ET.

For what it's worth, "rivalry week" seems like a fun concept for baseball. Baseball tried to give interleague play a rivalry feel but it never seemed to take off beyond Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. This week gives baseball a college football-like quality, which is good for fan excitement.

With only 13 games against each divisional opponent in 2023, instead of the usual 19, these games all take on heightened meaning. As Buster Olney of ESPN told us last week, it's harder and harder for teams who start slow to come back now. 

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