51黑料

An Apple? Only if it鈥檚 in the all-American variety of pie. But this year, it instead will be Apple TV+ that鈥檚 on the holiday menu for Cardinals and Cubs fans.

That outlet will exclusively stream Friday鈥檚 matchup between the longtime rivals as part of Apple鈥檚 contract with Major League Baseball for sole video rights to two games on Fridays throughout the season.

There is no local TV for those contests, which for the Cards means there will be no coverage on cable鈥檚 FanDuel Sports Midwest or over-the-air鈥檚 KMOV (Channel 4) or Matrix Midwest (Channel 32).

This will be the Cardinals鈥� fourth appearance (and second in a row) in this year鈥檚 package. The placement of those contests there 鈥� as in previous seasons 鈥� has gone over like a Roman Candle pointed in the wrong direction for fans who don鈥檛 purchase Apple TV+ or are aggravated about already buying FanDuel Sports Midwest but having to pay even more for these telecasts. Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month (although a to new customers).

The contest, at Wrigley Field, is set to begin at 1:20 p.m. and have Wayne Randazzo on play-by-play with Dontrelle Willis providing analysis and Heidi Watney serving as the reporter.

Apple鈥檚 other game on Friday is from a place where it isn鈥檛 even a holiday 鈥� Toronto, where the Blue Jays entertain the Los Angeles Angels at 6:07 p.m. (51黑料 time).

How to watch

Apple says its MLB games are available on the Apple TV+ app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, Windows PC, Android mobile device, smart TVs, streaming devices, and cable set-top boxes. They also can be seen on the internet at , including on Chrome OS devices.

The step-by-step instructions, per Apple, on how to watch its MLB streaming productions:

Establish an Apple TV+ subscription and update to the latest software.

Sign in with your Apple ID.

Set up the Apple TV+ app if you鈥檙e using a streaming device or game console.

Open the Apple TV+ app or go to the website.

Go to the search tab: Apple TV+ Major League Baseball.

Select the desired game.

Select watch.

FanDuel, ESPN up next

The remainder of the Cardinals-Cubs series moves to channels that are more familiar to many of the teams鈥� fans. As was the case with the Cards last weekend in Cleveland, it will be three different telecasters in three days.

On Saturday, FanDuel has the Cardinals鈥� version of the coverage of the contest that鈥檚 set for 1:20 p.m. Chip Caray is set to do the play-by-play, with Mark Sweeney as the commentator and Jim Hayes as the reporter.

Then ESPN shows the series finale as part of its 鈥淪unday Night Baseball鈥� package, and it鈥檚 set to begin at 5:10 p.m. 鈥� an hour earlier than its Sunday contests usually begin. That鈥檚 because ESPN has a rare doubleheader that night, with Texas at San Diego to follow. It will be the network鈥檚 first Sunday night twinbill since July 26, 2020 (Braves-Mets followed by Giants-Dodgers).

ESPN has assigned its usual 鈥淪unday Night Baseball鈥� broadcasters to the Cards-Cubs matchup 鈥� Karl Ravech on play-by-play, with David Cone and Eduardo Perez providing commentary.

This will be the Cardinals鈥� second time on 鈥淪unday Night Baseball鈥� this season, with the first being their game April 6 in Boston. They had four appearances last season, part of a vastly diminishing number of games in the showcase national spotlight, with the ESPN Sunday nighters generally the only MLB contest taking place at the time.

It also could be the Cards鈥� final appearance on the ESPN staple series, which began in 1990. ESPN and Major League Baseball had a contentious possible breakup last winter, when the network exercised an opt-out clause in the contract for the final three years of its deal to carry the Sunday package plus the Home Run Derby and some postseason games. That opt-out takes place at the end of this season, and MLB also said then it was pulling out of the agreement.

However, this week that the sides recently have had talks about ESPN remaining in the mix.

Free Birds

While the streaming-only games irritate some fans, the Cardinals have returned to showing a handful of their local telecasts on over-the-air TV this year for the first time in 16 seasons and that schedule now is set through August. That is achieved with KMOV (Channel 4) and/or Matrix Midwest simulcasting some FanDuel productions on Fridays.

The Cards also appear on Fox network regional telecasts (KTVI, Channel 2) occasionally, as they have done for many years. Those upcoming schedules:

July 11: 7:15 p.m. vs. Atlanta. KMOV (4), Matrix (32).

July 18: 8:40 p.m. at Arizona, KMOV (4), Matrix (32).

July 19: 6:15 p.m. at Arizona, KTVI (2).

Aug 8: 7:15 p.m. vs. Chicago Cubs, KMOV (4), Matrix (32).

Aug. 9: 6:15 p.m. vs. Chicago Cubs, KTVI (2).

Aug. 15: 7:15 p.m. vs. New York Yankees, KMOV (4)

Aug. 16: 6:15 p.m. vs. New York Yankees, KTVI (2).

Two of the three games in high-profile August series 鈥� at home against the Cubs and Yankees 鈥� are scheduled to be shown on 鈥渇ree TV,鈥� with the others on the team鈥檚 cable home (FanDuel). There are no exclusively streamed telecasts planned for those series.

It is possible that ESPN will snatch one or both of the Sunday contests against the Cubs and Yankees from FanDuel, but again ESPN is a familiar landing spot for Cardinals fans.