The Cardinals open a three game series at Oracle Park on Monday night in the only nationally televised baseball game of Labor Day. Coverage starts at 8 p.m. ET on NBC with first pitch at 8:10, and it streams on Peacock. One thing to know before you go looking for it: this is a national exclusive, so it is not on MLB.TV.
| First pitch | 8:10 p.m. ET, 5:10 p.m. PT. Coverage from 8:00 |
| TV | NBC, free over the air with an antenna |
| Streaming | Peacock. Not available on MLB.TV, which does not carry national exclusives |
| Spanish | Universo, produced by Telemundo Deportes |
| Ballpark | Oracle Park, San Francisco |
| Starters | Michael McGreevy (6-9, 3.97) vs. Logan Webb (4.21) |
What channel is Cardinals vs. Giants on tonight?
NBC, the broadcast network, not a cable channel. That means an antenna gets it for free, and it is the only baseball game on national television all day. Everything else on an 11 game Labor Day board is a regional broadcast.
This window exists because of NBC’s new media deal. Along with Sunday Night Baseball, Sunday Leadoff and the entire Wild Card round, NBC took special Opening Day and Labor Day primetime games starting in 2026, the first year the network has regularly carried baseball in more than two decades.
The catch worth repeating: national exclusives are carved out of MLB.TV. If you have an out of market subscription and try to watch there, you will get a blackout screen. Peacock is the streaming home.
The Broadcast Crew Is the Fun Part
NBC put a booth on this game that could not be more pointed at the two dugouts. Dave Flemming, who has called Giants games for two decades, has play by play. The analysts are Albert Pujols, the greatest Cardinal of the modern era, and Hunter Pence, a two time World Series winner in San Francisco. Ashley ShahAhmadi reports from the field.
One former Cardinal and one former Giant in the same booth, calling a Cardinals and Giants game. That is not an accident.
The Pitching Matchup
Michael McGreevy makes his 28th start for St. Louis. He is 6-9 with a 3.97 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 147 and a third innings, with opponents hitting .258 against him. His last time out, on Wednesday against the Dodgers, he went five innings and gave up four earned runs.
Logan Webb goes for San Francisco with a 4.21 ERA. The ERA favors McGreevy, but Webb has the better control and the bigger strikeout number, at 119 to 102 with a 1.16 WHIP against McGreevy’s 1.26. On paper it is closer than the standings suggest.
The larger problem for both is bullpen and staff form. Cardinals pitching has a 5.45 ERA over the last 10 games and has given up 11 home runs in that span. Opposing hitters have taken 14 home runs off San Francisco pitching over its last 10.
What It Means for Each Team
For St. Louis, everything and not much at once. The Cardinals are exactly .500 at 72 and 72 and sit four games behind Arizona for the last National League wild card with 18 to play. That is not hopeless, but they would have to climb past San Diego as well as Arizona, and a 5.45 staff ERA over two weeks is the wrong trend for a team that needs to win most of what is left. Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker are carrying the offense.
For San Francisco, nothing. The Giants are 59 and 85 and eliminated in all but the formal sense, playing out a first season under manager Tony Vitello and a second under Buster Posey as president of baseball operations. What is left is the spoiler role, and they get it in front of a national audience.
The Bottom Line
Cardinals at Giants starts at 8:10 p.m. ET Monday on NBC and Peacock from Oracle Park, with an 8 p.m. pregame. It is the only national baseball game of the holiday and it is not on MLB.TV. Michael McGreevy faces Logan Webb, Pujols and Pence are in the booth, and St. Louis needs the win far more than San Francisco does.