BBC 5 Live Sports Extra will be bringing us action from Turner Field this evening, as the Phillies and Braves continue their fierce NL East rivalry. 

That’s one of 14 day-games scheduled for Sunday, all played at a convenient time for us to enjoy in the UK.  ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game between the Yankees and Red Sox is the exception to the ‘early’ rule, with first pitch in that one set for 01.05 a.m.  All times are listed in BST.

18.05. Kansas City at Detroit (Hochevar – Porcello)
18.10. Washington at NY Mets (Marquis – Young)
18.35. Texas at Baltimore (Holland – Guthrie)
18.35. Philadelphia at Atlanta (Hamels – Lowe) * BBC 5 Live Sports Extra
18.35. Colorado at Pittsburgh (Chacin – McDonald)
19.05. Florida at Houston (Sanchez – Happ)
19.10. Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox (Niemann – Floyd)
19.10. Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee (Coleman – Gallardo)
19.10. Oakland at Minnesota (McCarthy – Baker)
20.35. Toronto at LA Angels (Reyes – Weaver)
21.05. LA Dodgers at San Diego (Ely – Harang)
21.05. St. Louis at San Francisco (Lohse – Zito)
21.10. Cleveland at Seattle (Tomlin – Bedard)
21.10. Cincinnati at Arizona (Leake – Saunders)

The Phillies marched to a comfortable 10-2 victory over the Braves yesterday, with catcher Carlos Ruiz getting a pinch-hit grand slam along the way.  The Braves had got the better of Cliff Lee on Friday in a 6-3 win, so today’s game will be the series decider at Turner Field.  Derek Lowe has pitched well in both his starts so far this season, while Cole Hamels was roughed up by the Mets last time out.  BBC’s coverage begins at 18.00, allowing the team plenty of time to discuss recent MLB news and to preview the game prior to first pitch.

The Cleveland Indians are the form team in MLB having won their last six games to vault to the top of the AL Central.  Yes, it’s very early in the season, but it’s still a fine sight for fans of the Tribe who have had little to shout about over the last couple of years.  The Indians’ six-game winning streak is matched by the Mariners’ six-game losing streak, so either the two longest current winning/losing streaks will come to an end or they’ll both creep up to seven games.

Elsewhere, the Angels’ Jered Weaver is bidding to become the first pitcher to gain three wins on the season and Yovani Gallardo’s start for the Brewers will be the first test of whether my Performance of the Week award has any jinxing powers. 

Three teams enter the day on 1-7 records.  The Astros were expected to find the going tough, but no one thought the Rays and Red Sox would start the season in such a stuttering way.  J.A. Happ is on the mound for the Astros looking to avert a home sweep by the Marlins, the Rays take on the White Sox while the Red Sox face the Yankees in the sole late game of the day.

All of these games are available to watch live via the MLB.TV subscription at MLB.com.  BBC 5 Live Sports Extra is broadcasting the Phillies-Braves game from 18.00 on digital radio. ESPN America is not showing any of the early games today, although they will be broadcasting the Yankees-Red Sox game live.  The full schedule for today’s games can be found on MLB.com.