Overview

• Persistent crackling began in the first inning and worsened with crowd surges, spiking on Anthony Volpe’s second-inning home run.
• Fans also reported choppy video, framing problems and audio–video sync issues across cable, streaming services and the ESPN app.
• Accounts conflict on resolution, with some saying issues were largely fixed by the end of the third inning and others noting problems persisted for multiple innings.
• Complaints flooded social media within minutes, with many viewers saying the production quality overshadowed the game itself.
• The outage echoes ESPN’s postseason audio troubles last year and comes in its final Wild Card season before NBC assumes those rights in 2026.