# ESPN Scores Lookup: Games, Scores and Teams by League (`accountable_eel/espn-scores-lookup`) Actor ESPN scores scraper for NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, soccer and college leagues. Extract live scores, game status, teams, venues and odds. Misses are free. - **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/espn-scores-lookup.md - **Developed by:** [Adrian Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community) - **Categories:** Sports, Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.75 / 1,000 game score returneds This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ## ESPN Scores Lookup: Games, Scores and Teams by League **Get live scores, final results, team stats, venues and betting odds across major sports leagues from ESPN.** Lookup current, live and scheduled game scores across the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, college sports, and major soccer leagues. Pay per game returned; empty scoreboards and misses are free. Used by sports analytics teams, fantasy sports operators, odds trackers, and media publishers needing clean, structured match data without running browser scrapers. ### How to use 1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `leagues` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found. 2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token: ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~espn-scores-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"leagues":["basketball/nba","football/nfl"]}' ``` 3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required. ### Input ```json { "leagues": [ "basketball/nba", "football/nfl" ] } ``` One sport/league per line (e.g. basketball/nba, football/nfl, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1). Accepted formats: basketball/nba, football/nfl, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, nba, nfl, https://www.espn.com/nba/scoreboard. ### Output One row per game, for example: | query | found | status | gameId | gameUid | gameName | shortName | gameDate | league | leagueName | seasonYear | seasonType | gameStatus | statusState | statusDetail | isCompleted | homeTeam | homeTeamAbbreviation | homeTeamId | homeScore | homeWinner | homeRecord | awayTeam | awayTeamAbbreviation | awayTeamId | awayScore | awayWinner | awayRecord | venueName | venueCity | venueState | broadcast | oddsSpread | oddsOverUnder | gameUrl | sourceUrl | scrapedAt | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | basketball/nba | true | OK | | | | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \ | | | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z | A miss comes back as a row with `"found": false` and is never charged. When a match has not started yet, `homeScore` and `awayScore` are `null` (never `0`). ### Pricing - **Game score returned**: $1.50 per 1,000 games Plus a $0.00005 start fee per run. Charged only for games returned in the dataset — empty scoreboards or not-found leagues are never charged. ### Example runs Paste any of these into the Input tab and press Start. All three return rows with no key, no token, and no external accounts. **NBA and NFL today's scoreboard (default).** ```json { "leagues": [ "basketball/nba", "football/nfl" ], "maxItems": 20 } ``` **Major European soccer leagues.** ```json { "leagues": [ "soccer/eng.1", "soccer/uefa.champions", "soccer/esp.1" ], "maxItems": 15 } ``` **Specific game date lookup for MLB and College Football.** ```json { "leagues": [ "baseball/mlb", "football/college-football" ], "dates": "20261010", "maxItems": 20 } ``` ### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token. ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~espn-scores-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"leagues":["basketball/nba","football/nfl"]}' ``` **n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~espn-scores-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"leagues":["basketball/nba","football/nfl"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value). **Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~espn-scores-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=`, Body `{"leagues":["{{league}}"]}`, mapping the row's league into the `leagues` array. **MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "espn scraper" — the agent will find and run this actor. # Actor input Schema ## `leagues` (type: `array`): One sport/league per line (e.g. basketball/nba, football/nfl, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1). Accepted formats: basketball/nba, football/nfl, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, nba, nfl, https://www.espn.com/nba/scoreboard. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing. ## `mode` (type: `string`): Pick the option that matches what you need — you can leave this on the recommended setting. ## `testRun` (type: `boolean`): Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything. ## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`): Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here. ## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`): Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything. ## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`): Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Optional. Stop the run once this many results have been found — useful for a quick, cheap sample. Leave blank for no limit. ## `dates` (type: `string`): Optional date (e.g. 20261011) or date range (YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD) to fetch scores for. Leave empty for today's live and scheduled games. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Optional. Caps how many games to return per league. Leave blank for all games on the scoreboard. ## `columns` (type: `array`): Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default. ## `expandRows` (type: `boolean`): When on, each game found gets its own row instead of being grouped under its league. You're still only charged once per league, no matter how many rows it produces. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify Proxy config. Residential recommended for anti-bot-sensitive targets. ## Actor input object example ```json { "leagues": [ "basketball/nba", "football/nfl" ], "mode": "scoreboard", "testRun": false, "onlyFound": false, "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [], "dates": "", "maxItems": 20, "columns": [ "gameId", "gameUid", "gameName", "shortName", "gameDate", "league", "leagueName", "seasonYear", "seasonType", "gameStatus", "statusState", "statusDetail", "isCompleted", "homeTeam", "homeTeamAbbreviation", "homeTeamId", "homeScore", "homeWinner", "homeRecord", "awayTeam", "awayTeamAbbreviation", "awayTeamId", "awayScore", "awayWinner", "awayRecord", "venueName", "venueCity", "venueState", "broadcast", "oddsSpread", "oddsOverUnder", "gameUrl", "sourceUrl" ], "expandRows": true, "maxConcurrency": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "leagues": [ "basketball/nba", "football/nfl" ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/espn-scores-lookup").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "leagues": [ "basketball/nba", "football/nfl", ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("accountable_eel/espn-scores-lookup").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "leagues": [ "basketball/nba", "football/nfl" ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [] }' | apify call accountable_eel/espn-scores-lookup --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/espn-scores-lookup" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/aiFbtMathgl8LhRkj/builds/le3qrf5lxypZadERh/openapi.json