Sunday night’s face off between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, which saw Boston defeat New York in 10 innings, delivered the best Sunday Night Baseball rating in four years for ESPN, according to Nielsen. The telecast drew a 2.2 metered market rating, making it the highest-rated Sunday Night Baseball telecast since the Texas Rangers-Los Angeles Angels’ faceoff on June 22, 2014 (2.4 rating). This excludes the Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals 2017 Opening Night telecast, held on a Sunday.
The telecast, which saw the Sox score three runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, then beat the Yankees 5-4 in the 10th inning on a three-hop single by Andrew Benintendi, was up 83 percent from last year’s comparable game between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers (1.2 rating).
The telecast generated a 10.8 rating in the Boston metered market, making it the highest-rated ESPN MLB telecast in the market in seven years, since August 7, 2011, which also featured a matchup against the Yankees. In the New York market, the telecast drew a 5.7 rating.
Sunday Night Baseball continues on August 12 when the Chicago Cubs host the Washington Nationals on ESPN at 8 PM ET. Matt Vasgersian, analysts Jessica Mendoza and Alex Rodriguez, and reporter Buster Olney will provide commentary.
