ESPN to air classics with 'MLB Encore Tuesdays'

Tuesday nights typically feature a full slate of games during the regular season. But now, with the 2020 MLB season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesdays can still be fans’ appointment-viewing night for baseball.

ESPN, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, has announced an “MLB Encore Tuesdays” series that will feature some of the most memorable games in history each Tuesday through the month of April. The series will air on ESPN and the ESPN app, and it begins this Tuesday, March 31, with the Sept. 21, 2001, matchup between the Mets and Braves -- the game that saw Mike Piazza hit his famous go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in New York City’s first professional sports game following the Sept. 11 tragedy.

Below is the full schedule for ESPN’s “MLB Encore Tuesdays:”

March 31, 7 p.m. ET – Braves at Mets, Sept. 21, 2001 (Piazza’s post-9/11 homer)
April 7, 7 p.m. ET – Angels at Orioles, Sept. 6, 1995 (Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his record 2,131st straight game)
April 14, 8 p.m. ET – A’s at Dodgers, Oct. 15, 1988 (Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit, walk-off homer in Game 1 of the ’88 World Series)
April 21, 7 p.m. ET – Yankees at Mariners, Oct. 8, 1995 (Ken Griffey Jr. scores on “The Double” by Edgar Martinez to clinch Seattle’s ALDS victory)
April 28, 7 p.m. ET – Red Sox at Yankees, Oct. 16, 2003 (Aaron Boone sends the Yankees to the World Series with his famous 11th-inning walk-off home run)

The ESPN+ streaming service will also unveil its first collection of classic MLB games available on demand beginning this Tuesday. Those games include:

• Don Larsen’s perfect game for the Yankees against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series
• Len Barker’s perfect game for the Indians against the Blue Jays on May 15, 1981
• Nolan Ryan’s fifth career no-hitter for the Astros against the Dodgers on Sept. 26, 1981
• Nolan Ryan’s sixth no-hitter for the Rangers against the A’s on June 11, 1990
• Dave Stewart’s no-hitter for the A’s against the Blue Jays on June 29, 1990
• David Wells’ perfect game for the Yankees against the Twins on May 17, 1998
• David Cone’s perfect game for the Yankees against the Expos on July 18, 1999
• Randy Johnson’s perfect game for the D-backs against the Braves on May 18, 2004
• Jon Lester’s no-hitter for the Red Sox against the Royals on May 19, 2008
• Mark Buehrle’s perfect game for the White Sox against the Rays on July 23, 2009
• Roy Halladay’s perfect game for the Phillies against the Marlins on May 29, 2010
• Matt Garza’s no-hitter for the Rays against the Tigers on July 26, 2010
• Roy Halladay’s postseason no-hitter for the Phillies against the Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS