Baseball is the sport that keeps on giving.
We had the excitement of an Opening Series in Japan, then an Opening Night in Miami, an Opening Day at seven ballparks yesterday and now another eight Opening Day starts today (with San Diego making it nine games in total today after starting their season on Thursday).
Five of today’s contests take place later in the night UK time, but we do have four games to follow live during the British evening. All times are in BST.
19.05. Chicago White Sox at Texas (Danks – Lewis) * ESPN America
You can look at the Rangers as either the two-time World Series losers or the two-time American League winners. The latter is a fairer reflection on their achievements and a more accurate depiction of them being a team that has got used to winning in recent seasons.
It’s a tough series to open with for the White Sox and their rookie manager Robin Ventura, but they will like their chances today with ace and former Rangers Minor Leaguer John Danks on the mound.
20.05. Minnesota at Baltimore (Pavano – Arrieta)
It figures to be another long season in Baltimore; however a positive performance from Jake Arrieta would help to raise spirits that this could be a year of development rather than yet another year of stagnation at the still charming Camden Yards.
As for the Twins, things can only get better after a mostly miserable 2011 season. Healthy years from Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau would go a long way to getting this team back on track and they both appear to have come out of Spring Training in good form, both health-wise and performance-wise at the plate.
20.10. NY Yankees at Tampa Bay (Sabathia – Shields)
CC Sabathia and James Shields take to the mound in the first clash of the regular season between two teams who have developed quite a rivalry over the last couple of seasons. That says a huge amount about how far the Rays have come since the formative years of the franchise when the Bronx Bombers swatted them away like a fly.
Things are very different now and while the Yankees have a formidable roster that makes them favourites for the AL East, the Rays will be battling with them every step of the way.
21.10. St. Louis at Milwaukee (Garcia – Gallardo)
The Cardinals quite happily spoiled the party in Miami on Wednesday night by beating the Marlins in the first game at their new ballpark. Jaime Garcia will look to follow the lead of rotation-mate Kyle Lohse with his own no-hitter bid as the post-Prince era begins at Miller Park.
Yovani Gallardo gives the Brew Crew a strong presence on the mound and reigning MVP Ryan Braun can expect a warm welcome from the home fans, which is unlikely to be replicated on the road (fairly or not) after his off-season drug-test saga.
All of these games are available to watch live via the MLB.TV subscription at MLB.com.  ESPN America is showing the White Sox-Rangers game. The full schedule for today’s games can be found on MLB.com.
