There are only four early MLB games to enjoy live during the British evening this working week.  Arizona and Atlanta will meet in an early game today, with the Royals facing the White Sox in a day game at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday and then Giants-Reds and Mariners-Tigers on Thursday.  All times are in BST. 

Monday 17 August

21.05. D-Backs @ Braves – Scherzer (7-6), Hanson (7-2)

We begin the week with a good looking game between Arizona and Atlanta, showcasing two talented young pitchers.  Max Scherzer has a live arm and pitched well last time out against the Mets, while Tommy Hanson has greatly impressed for the Braves in his rookie season.

Tuesday 18 August

There are no early games tomorrow.  The Mets and Braves will begin their latest series at ten past midnight with Derek Lowe on the mound for Atlanta. Pedro Martinez is scheduled to make his second start for the Phillies in their game against Jon Garland and the D-Backs (00.05), while Tim Lincecum is due to pitch for the Giants against Homer Bailey and the Reds (00.10).  The Cardinals and Dodgers continue their series in LA, with Chad Billingsley set to make his return from an extended lay-off (03.10).

In the American League, the Yankees and Red Sox have their aces on the hill.  CC Sabathia takes on the A’s (03.05) and Josh Beckett goes against the Blue Jays (00.07). 

Wednesday 19 August

19.05. Royals @ White Sox – Greinke (11-7), Contreras (4-11)

There’s just one early game on Wednesday this week.  Zack Greinke has continued to pitch well for the Royals, but his efforts have only been rewarded with two wins in his last ten outings.   A quick look at his splits suggests that the White Sox might have a slightly better chance than normal of getting some runs against him in this game.  Greinke’s ERA on the road is nearly a run higher than at Kauffman Stadium (a still measly 2.81 compared to 1.94) and his ERA in day games is 4.81.

The White Sox would be grasping at straws if they take too much confidence from those stats, but they could be forgiven for looking for any slight signs of hope with Contreras on the mound.  Although the Cuban looked great when he first came back from injury in June, things have gone downhill rapidly since then.  He’s 0-4 in his last six starts with a 7.62 ERA over that span.  It does look like manager Ozzie Guillen will stick with him for this start; however another poor performance could put his rotation spot in jeopardy.

Thursday 20 August

17.35. Giants @ Reds – Cain (12-4), Harang (6-14)
18.05. Mariners @ Tigers – TBD, TBD

You know it’s a disappointing week for early games when Thursday only brings two such contests.  Both include postseason contenders though. 

We can discount the Reds from that conversation, but the Giants are firmly in contention for the NL Wild Card and possibly even the NL West.  Matt Cain ended up with a no-decision against the Mets on Saturday while pitching 7.2 strong innings in a duel with Johan Santana.  Cain seems to get better and better, while Aaron Harang’s career is going the other way quickly. 

In the American League game, the Tigers are in a close battle with the White Sox for the Central division, with the Twins hanging in there as well.  The Mariners are really now playing for a .500 season and they have enough talent to act as an effective spoiler the rest of the way.  Probable pitchers haven’t been confirmed just yet, but if the two teams follow their previous rotation sequence then Jarrod Washburn will be facing his former club for the Tigers. Ryan Rowland-Smith would make the start for the M’s on the back of a very commendable performance against the Yankees (just three hits and two earned runs conceded over seven innings).

Friday 21 August

There are no early games to end the working week; however it should be a great weekend of action with important series between Yankees-Red Sox, Phillies-Mets, Marlins-Braves, Rangers-Rays, Giants-Rockies and Cubs-Dodgers.

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.