It shouldn’t bother me as much as it does… but here we are. Just one of the three games between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets this weekend is actually being broadcast on Marquee Sports Network, the TV home of the Cubs. Saturday is part of the FOX national broadcast – and Sunday, well, Sunday, the game is set to be shown exclusively on Roku.
From now until early September, an early Sunday MLB matchup will be shown on Roku, and the Cubs and Mets have the ‘honor’ of kicking off what the league is calling the ‘Roku MLB Sunday Leadoff’ at Citi Field.
That game will see Chicago left-hander Matthew Boyd (3-2, 2.75 ERA) start opposite Mets right-hander Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.50 ERA). First pitch is set for 11:05a CT Sunday morning, just about as early of a start as you’ll see (unless you, like me, were part of the group watching the Tokyo Series games in the wee hours of the morning back in March).
How can I watch the Cubs on Roku?
There’s no cost to watch. Anyone who has a Roku device or downloads The Roku Channel app will be able to stream Sunday’s game. There’s no login required and it’s free. Really, it’s more the principle that irks me. Rather than making games easier to watch, even fans of teams like the Cubs, who have their own network, have to jump through hoops just to find games.
One plus, if you want to call it that, is that if you’re an MLB.TV subscriber, you can watch the game there, given that there are no blackouts for Roku MLB Sunday Leadoff games this season. Thankfully, this is the only time the Cubs are featured on Roku this season.
A look at the Cubs’ upcoming schedule
After concluding the three-game set against the first-place Mets, Chicago returns to Wrigley Field for a six-game homestand, taking on the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox. That’s followed by a three-game series in Miami and a weekend set against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark.
Chicago closes out the month of May with another homestand: three against the Rockies and three against Cincinnati before an off-day on June 2 to start another month.