The Pirates are part of a Primetime doubleheader on NBC

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets are set to play against each other opening day at Citi Field. They are going to be a part of a Primetime Opening Day doubleheader on March 26 on NBC and Peacock. This marks the network’s return to Major League Baseball, as the Mets will host the Pirates at 1 p.m. ET.

NBC’s 2026 MLB schedule is the result of a new broadcast deal. This is going to be the network’s first full season of baseball coverage in more than two decades. The night game will feature the two-time World Series defending champion Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles.

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Pittsburgh’s Opening Day starter is anticipated to be reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. The ace is coming off of a 10-win season and a dominant 1.97 ERA.

It is less of an obvious pick for New York for who their starter should be. Top candidates include young arms like Nolan McLean, who showed a lot of potential in 2025, and the returning Christian Scott. Scott is coming off Tommy John surgery but is expected to be a top guy this season for their rotation. Other options are Framber Valdez and veterans Kodai Senga and  Sean Manaea.

Both teams missed out on the playoffs in the 2025 season. The Mets made a monster move bringing in Juan Soto in the offseason but that was not enough.

While the Bucs went 71-91 this past season finishing in last place in the NL Central. With moves like Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn the Pirates are improving their batting lineup going into the new season.

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With Jared Jones coming back from injury and already having Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes the Pirates are looking to have a deadly pitching rotation this season.

This is an exciting matchup to have on Opening Day for a network like NBC who is getting back into broadcasting baseball. The Pirates are a team that has a lot of potential this season. If the top guys in the rotation can stay healthy and the offense can give them run support, we could see the Bucs make a playoff run, something they haven’t done since 2015.