As always, there is plenty of baseball to enjoy live during Sunday evening in the UK.  The two later games are Dodgers-Braves at 01.00 (Billingsley versus Jurrjens) and Mariners-Rangers at 01.05 (Snell and Feldman).  The first of those two is scheduled to be shown live on ESPN America.  Presumably the launch of the new ESPN channel tomorrow (with ESPN America moving to new channel number on Sky and Virgin Media) won’t have any impact on this, but it might be worth checking if you want to record the game.

18.05. Tigers @ Indians – Galarraga (5-9), Pavano (8-8)
18.10. D-Backs @ Mets – Garland (5-10), Pelfrey (8-6)
18.10. Rockies @ Reds – Marquis (12-7), Arroyo (10-10)
18.35. Red Sox @ Orioles – Buchholz (1-1), Hill (3-3)
18.35. Nationals @ Pirates – Balester (1-1), Maholm (6-5)
18.38. Royals @ Rays – Bannister (6-7), Shields (6-7)
19.05. Yankees @ White Sox – Sabathia (10-7), Buehrle (11-4)
19.10. Angels @ Twins – Weaver (10-3), Perkins (6-6)
19.15. Astros @ Cardinals – Norris (0-0), Wainwright (12-6)
21.05. Brewers @ Padres – Villanueva (2-8), Correia (7-8)
21.05. Phillies @ Giants – Hamels (7-5), Zito (6-10)
21.05. Blue Jays @ A’s – Romero (9-4), Mazzaro (2-7)
22.05. Cubs @ Marlins – Dempster (5-5), Nolasco (7-7)

All times in BST. 

With respect to all the other teams and starting pitchers, one match-up really stands out.  To say Mark Buehrle is in decent form at the moment would be an understatement, while CC Sabathia isn’t too shabby a pitcher either.  The Yankees-White Sox game at 19.05 should therefore be a compelling pitching duel between two good teams, particularly as the Yanks go into the contest looking to avoid a four-game sweep.

Clay Buchholz’s name figured prominently in trade talks over the past week, but the Red Sox hold him in high regard and ultimately decided not to trade the right-hander.  He will be out to show Boston’s faith was not misplaced today facing the team he threw a no-hitter against back in September 2007. 

Away from the AL East giants, Cole Hamels now has a joint ace alongside him in Philadelphia and perhaps that will spur him on to recapture his ’08 form, which hasn’t quite been there so far this season.  Tim Lincecum shut out the formidable Phillies batting lineup yesterday to give the Giants a 2-1 series lead and Barry Zito attempts to win the series for the home team this evening.

The Mets gained a big win over the D-Backs yesterday thanks to an Angel Pagan grand slam in the eighth inning.  That tied the series at 1-1 and the Mets really need to start winning their home series at Citi Field if they are going to make a move in the NL wild card race.  The Rockies are currently tied for the wild card with the Giants and Jason Marquis has the chance to lead Colorado to a sweep of the Reds tonight.

Finally, Adam Wainwright’s start for the Cardinals is worth pointing out.  His 12-6 season record neatly matches the path of his knee-buckling curveball, although he’ll be glad to see that come to an end if his win tally has improved to 13 after St Louis’s game against the Astros.

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  ESPN America will broadcast the Rockies-Reds game live at 18.00, followed by Phillies-Giants at 21.00 and then the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game at 01.00.