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Live baseball in the British evening this week

by Matt Smith

Twenty-four MLB teams have now played their opening game of 2009, with the remaining six scheduled to do so today.  The baseball season has well and truly begun and that means it’s time to launch our regular guide to games that Brits can follow at a convenient time here in the UK.

Every Monday morning, we provide a summary of the games that are scheduled to begin before midnight over the working week ahead.  The aim is to give British fans a ‘heads up’ on the games and pitching match-ups that they can enjoy during the evening.  Opening day deserved a post of its own, so we will break with tradition and publish the rest of this week’s guide today.  All times are listed in British Summer Time (BST). 

Tuesday 7 – The six teams that haven’t started their seasons yet don’t have to wait much longer.  The three games are all being played under daylight, which is good news for us.  The action begins at 19.05 as the White Sox host the Royals in a contest that was postponed yesterday due to ‘cold weather’.  Gil Meche and Mark Buehrle are the scheduled starters, although keep a check on MLB.com to make sure that the game hasn’t fallen victim to the elements once again.  The other two contests begin at 21.05.  Reigning NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum takes the mound for the Giants against Jeff Suppan and the Brewers, while we have a re-run of the 2008 ALCS in Boston as Josh Beckett and the Red Sox take on James Shields and the Rays.

Wednesday 8 – We have three more early games tomorrow.  The mercurial Daniel Cabrera makes his debut for the Nationals in their game against the Marlins from 17.10.  Chris Volstad will start for Florida.  The Braves and the Phillies continue their series at Citizens Bank Park with Javier Vazquez and Joe Blanton toeing the rubber from 20.05.  Finally, it’s the Rockies (Franklin Morales) versus the D-Backs (Doug Davis) at 20.40.

Thursday 9 – You can always count on Thursday to provide an early game or two.  Thursday is often referred to as the ‘getaway day’ on account of the fact that many games are played early to allow one or both of the teams more time to travel to their weekend series destination(s).  This week, all but two of the eleven games are being played in daylight.

We start at 17.35 with the Mets versus the Reds (Perez vs Arroyo), closely followed two minutes later by the Tigers against the Blue Jays (Rick Porcello makes his Major League debut for Detroit in this one).  At 18.10, it’s Jarrod Washburn and the Mariners against Glenn Perkins and the Twins.  Two games begin at 18.35: A.J. Burnett is scheduled to make his Yankee debut against the Orioles; Garza and Matsuzaka are the starters for the latest Rays-Red Sox clash.  Chris Carpenter is slated to make his long-awaited return from injury for the Cardinals five minutes later against the Pirates.

At 19.05, Carl Pavano, the former king of the Yankee treatment table, will be looking to remind us that he can actually pitch.  He makes his debut for the Indians against Brandon McCarthy and the Rangers.  At the same time, the Royals take on the White Sox (Davies versus Contreras).  The final early game begins at 20.35 and sees Clayton Kershaw making a start for the Dodgers against the Padres.

Friday 10 – There are five early games on Good Friday.  The Rangers and the Tigers get the action started at 18.05.  Then there are two games beginning at 20.05 (Cubs versus Brewers, Blue Jays versus Indians) and two at 20.10 (Yankees versus Royals, Phillies versus Rockies).

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, Gameday Audio and MLB.tv), while ESPN America’s MLB schedule can be found here.  Of course, there is no Wednesday Night Baseball on Five and the channel should hang its head in shame as a result.

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4 comments

Magnus not Magnusson April 7, 2009 - 3:35 pm

Sorry Matt
I dont agree about Channel 5 hanging their head in shame.
The channel covered the sport excellently for 12 years. What concerns me more is MLB International allowing NASN to charge for coverage which is free to broadcast.
Ethics? Those days are long gone.
Perhaps MLBI arent aware 5 has ditched baseball?

Reply
Matt Smith April 7, 2009 - 4:01 pm

It was written partly in jest, although I strongly believe that ditching original, unique content is a false economy for a TV channel.

MLBI have a regional office in London, so I’m sure they are aware of it. Whether they can do much about it is another matter.

Reply
Magnus not Magnusson April 7, 2009 - 4:20 pm

Cheers Matt
We all miss Channel 5’s coverage – no doubt.
MLBI pride themselves on bringing baseball to the masses – this will no longer apply to the UK – blinkin shame.
NASN havent replied to my query bout reduced subs for NASN only or even a request to unscramble 1 or 2 games per week. The mighty £££ is all that matters.
Its all a bit shortsighted.

Reply
Pete Hill April 7, 2009 - 10:57 pm

Anyone else having trouble getting Game Day Audio because of Black Out restrictions. I keep getting told the software can’t verify my location which probably isn’t surprising as in Ware Hertfordshire! Is there anyway round the loop the software puts you into that keeps asking for a new subscription?

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