The four early games yesterday provided four good contests. The Blue Jays got a walk-off win against the Orioles, the Giants came from 2-1 down to beat the Reds 4-2, the Angels edged a close one against the Rangers 3-2 and the Yankees shutout the Red Sox yet again.

We’ll be treated to more of the same today.  Sunday evening in the UK always gives you the nice problem of not knowing which of many good games to choose from.   

Sunday 9 August

18.05. Twins @ Tigers – Baker (9-7), Washburn (8-7)
18.07. Orioles @ Blue Jays – Matusz (1-0), Halladay (11-5)
18.35. D-Backs @ Nationals – Petit (2-5), Martin (0-2)
18.35. Marlins @ Phillies – Johnson (10-2), Moyer (10-8)
18.35. Cardinals @ Pirates – Pineiro (9-9), Duke (9-10)
19.05. Indians @ White Sox – Huff (5-6), Contreras (4-10)
19.05. Brewers @ Astros – Gallardo (10-8), Rodriguez (10-6)
19.10. A’s @ Royals – Gonzalez (3-2), Hochevar (6-4)
20.10. Cubs @ Rockies – Wells (8-4), Hammel (6-6)
20.35. Rangers @ Angels – Holland (4-7), Lackey (7-4)
21.05. Reds @ Giants – Harang (5-13), Cain (12-3)
21.05. Mets @ Padres – Santana (12-8), Stauffer (1-3)
21.10. Braves @ Dodgers – Vazquez (9-7), Kuroda (4-5)
21.10. Rays @ Mariners – Kazmir (6-6), Rowland-Smith (1-1)

01.05. Red Sox @ Yankees – Lester (9-7), Pettitte (9-6)

All times are in BST. 

The Orioles’ Chris Tillman did a decent job yesterday starting against the Blue Jays, even though he finished with a no-decision.  Fellow rookie Brian Matusz follows him to the mound today and would probably be wise not to expect too much run support with Roy Halladay starting for Toronto.  Meanwhile, Jarrod Washburn will look to recover from a disappointing debut for the Tigers in their game against the Twains.

The Marlins are going for the three-game sweep tonight in Philadelphia and have every reason to be confident with Josh Johnson on the mound.  He gave up four runs to the Nationals last time out, but they all came in the eighth inning after he had held them scoreless for the previous seven.  It also marked the first time since 18 April that he had given up more than three runs in an outing (that 18 April start was coincidentally also against Washington).

While we’re on the subject of the Nationals, they have won seven in a row heading into the series finale against the D-Backs.  The Padres can’t match that just yet, but they have won three in a row against the Mets.  Johan Santana is tasked with putting an end to that run.

The solitary late game between the Red Sox and Yankees should continue their trend of exciting encounters.  Boston are on the ropes right now and need a big outing by Jon Lester and a batting resurgence to avoid a demoralising sweep in the Bronx. 

However, my game of the day does not involve the two big teams from the AL East.  The Dodgers and Braves have put together a thrilling series over their first three games and tonight’s game at 21.10 promises to bring it to a great climax.  Andre Ethier hit a walk-off homer for L.A. on Thursday, before the Braves hit back with two extra inning wins, last night’s being a 2-1 tenth-inning victory after both teams were held scoreless through nine.

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  ESPN America will broadcast the Twins-Tigers game live at 18.00, followed by Rangers-Angels at 21.00 and then Red Sox-Yankees at 01.00.