The chaos caused by Hurricane Irene over the weekend led to the postponement of a number of MLB games on the East coast.
Those games will need to be squeezed into the schedule somehow. The most likely approach will be for teams to play some double-headers over the next couple of weeks, therefore producing some additional early contests.
There aren’t any extra early games scheduled for this working week; however there is still some live baseball to watch before midnight UK time on four of the five days.
All times are in BST.
Monday 29 August
21.10. Florida at NY Mets (Sanchez – Dickey)
Both the Marlins and Mets had their last two games postponed, so the teams will be keen to get back to action on Monday. This is the first game of a double-header from Citi Field. Anibal Sanchez and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey are scheduled to pitch in the opener, with Ricky Nolasco and Dillon Gee being the probable pitchers in the second game.Â
Tuesday 30 August
No early games
Wednesday 31 AugustÂ
18.05. Kansas City at Detroit (Paulino – Porcello)
19.10. Minnesota at Chicago White Sox (Diamond – Peavy) *ESPN America
20.10. San Diego at LA Dodgers (LeBlanc – Lilly)
20.45. Chicago Cubs at San Francisco (Lopez – Bumgarner)Â
Heading into this week, the Chicago White Sox had forged ahead of the Cleveland Indians into second place in the AL Central. The Detroit Tigers still retain a handy lead in the division, but it’s far from being insurmountable over the final month of the regular season.
The Tigers need to keep on winning and they will see a series at home against the Royals as a good chance to do just that. Meanwhile Jake Peavy will be looking for his seventh win of the season in the White Sox’s game against the Twins on ESPN America.
In the National League, the Giants have a home-stand in which to pull back some of the lead that the Diamondbacks have created through their recent winning run. Madison Bumgarner is scheduled to start against the Cubs on Wednesday.
Thursday 1 September
17.05. Oakland at Cleveland (Gonzalez – Carmona)
17.35. Toronto at Baltimore (Perez – Hunter)
17.35. Philadelphia at Cincinnati (Worley – Leake) *ESPN America
18.05. Kansas City at Detroit (Duffy – Turner)
21.05. LA Dodgers at Pittsburgh (Billingsley – Lincoln)
21.10. St. Louis at Milwaukee (Dickson – Gallardo)
As the Royals-Tigers series continues, fans of the Indians have a chance to watch their team in action in a day-game against the A’s on Thursday. Fausto Carmona laboured through his most recent start against the Royals, so this is a chance for him to get back on track just when his team needs it most.
The ESPN America game pits the Phillies against the Reds. Vance Worley has been a revelation for the Phillies, who were already expected to have a strong rotation regardless of who was in the fifth starter spot. As for the Reds, they have had a disappointing year after winning the NL Central in 2010, but a good final month will at least see them end with a winning record and offer hope for 2012.
Finally, the Cardinals really need to sweep the Brewers in Milwaukee – or at least win two from three – if they are to put any sort of pressure on the NL Central leaders in September. Thursday’s game is the series finale and the Brewers will be confident with Yovani Gallardo on the mound against Brandon Dickson. The former is scheduled to make his first career MLB start after two relief appearances for the Red Birds.
Friday 2 September
19.20. Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs (Karstens – Dempster) *ESPN America
England are playing a Euro qualifier against Bulgaria on Friday evening. That game is due to start at 19.15 BST and, patriotism aside, you’re likely to see a more entertaining game between the Pirates and Cubs from Wrigley Field.
All of these games are available to watch live via the MLB.TV subscription at MLB.com. The early games being shown on ESPN America are highlighted above, while the ESPN/ESPN America schedule can be found on their website. The full schedule for this week’s games can be found on MLB.com.
