CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 05: Starting pitcher Jon Lester #34 of the Chicago Cubs delivers the ball against the St. Louis Cardinals during the Opening Night game at Wrigley Field on April 5, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

After an incredibly eventful offseason, the MLB season began on Sunday night, and ESPN enjoyed its highest ratings for an Opening Night game since 2010. Naturally, that 2010 game was a wild Yankees-Red Sox affair at Fenway Park following New York’s 2009 World Series win over the Phillies.

The Cardinals-Cubs game on Sunday drew a 2.1 overnight on ESPN2. That’s not only the best Opening Night rating since 2010, but is also a whopping 40% up from the 2013 (Rangers-Astros) and 2014 (Dodgers-Padres) openers, both of which aired on ESPN as opposed to ESPN2.

The game also predictably shined in both St. Louis and Chicago. In St. Louis, the Opening Night contest drew a 17.7 overnight, which is the highest-rated regular season game *ever* in the market on any ESPN network. The game drew a strong 7.6 in Chicago as well, the highest-rated regular season game in the market on any ESPN network in five years.

All in all, it was a solid start to the season for ESPN, and they’re going to look to continue that momentum today with a quadruple header of MLB games. After a strong Postseason, MLB has to be thrilled with a nice beginning to the season.

[ESPN]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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