There are five MLB games starting before midnight on Saturday. The A’s are in Boston, the Rays in Seattle, the Dodgers in Cincinnati, the Cubs in St Louis and the Rockies in San Francisco.
18.10. Oakland at Boston (Trevor Cahill – Josh Beckett)
We start the evening with a game in Boston. The home fans will be looking forward to this game as part of a big sports day, with the Bruins playing the second game of their Stanley Cup tie in Vancouver later on (a 1 a.m. UK time start on ESPN America).
The A’s were swept at home by the Yankees during the week and their road trip didn’t start well last night as they let an early 4-0 lead go to waste. The Red Sox won 8-6 to move within one game of the Yankees in the AL East standings. Both starting pitchers have performed well this season, so it should be a close match-up.
21.10. Tampa Bay at Seattle (Jeremy Hellickson – Doug Fister)
The Mariners beat the Rays 7-0 last night, with Jason Vargas pitching a complete game shut-out, to make it two wins from the first two games of this four-game series. Doug Fister has quietly been part of a very effective starting rotation for Seattle so far this season.
As for Tampa Bay, Hellickson is an early front-runner for Rookie of the Year honours. He pitched seven scoreless innings against the Cleveland Indians last time out and will look to turn in another strong outing as the Rays try to set up a series split.
21.10. LA Dodgers at Cincinnati (Clayton Kershaw – Johnny Cueto)
The Reds edged past the Dodgers 2-1 last night to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Runs are likely to be at a premium again today. Kershaw was at his dominating best last time out against the Marlins on Sunday, while Cueto’s impressive form after starting the season on the Disabled List has been a real boost for the Reds.
21.10. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis (Randy Wells – Kyle Lohse) * ESPN America
The ESPN America game takes us to Busch Stadium and the latest instalment in the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry. St Louis won two out of three in Chicago back in May and they started the latest home series last night with a 6-1 victory. A three-run homer by Lance Berkman in the opening inning set them on their way and Jaime Garcia shut down the Cubs’ batting lineup.
Randy Wells makes his second start after a spell on the Disabled List (the first didn’t go well against the Pirates), while Kyle Lohse has been in excellent form this season, partly making up for the absence of the injured Adam Wainwright.
21.10. Colorado at San Francisco (Jhoulys Chacin – Madison Bumgarner)
The Giants have won six of the seven games these two teams have played in Colorado so far this season, including last night’s series opener. The Rockies took two games in San Francisco, so the season series record stands at 6-3 to the Giants prior to today’s game.
All of these games are available to watch live via the MLB.TV subscription at MLB.com. The ESPN America game is highlighted above. The full schedule for today’s games can be found on MLB.com.