It’s a national holiday in the States today, so we’re able to start the week on a positive note with fifteen games beginning before midnight and one starting just after that time.  We then draw a blank on Tuesday, but there are four early games on Wednesday, three on Thursday and a day game at Wrigley on Friday to start the weekend in style.

All times are in BST.     

Monday 7 September

17.35. Cubs @ Pirates – Lilly (10-8), McCutchen (0-0)
18.05. Rays @ Yankees – Sonnanstine (6-8), Sabathia (16-7)
18.07. Twins @ Blue Jays – Manship (0-0), Richmond (6-8)
19.05. Red Sox @ White Sox – Beckett (14-5), Buehrle (11-7)
19.05. Phillies @ Astros – Happ (10-4), Moehler (8-10)
19.05. Cardinals @ Brewers – Carpenter (15-3), Bush (3-6)
19.10. Angels @ Royals – Santana (7-7), Davies (6-9)
20.10. Reds @ Rockies – Lehr (4-1), Jimenez (13-10)
20.40. Dodgers @ D-Backs – Padilla (9-6), TBD
21.05. Padres @ Giants – Richard (8-4), Penny (8-8)
23.05. Rangers @ Indians – McCarthy (6-2), Carrasco (0-1)
00.05. Rays @ Yankees [Gm 2] – Garza (7-9), Burnett (10-8)

Today is Labor Day in the States, so we have a bonus day of early games with the only exception being the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.  Take your pick from the selection on offer.  The first Rays-Yankees match up obviously stands out, as CC Sabathia aims for win number seventeen, closely followed by the contest between Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle from the Cell. 

Three pitchers are scheduled to make their second Major League starts today.  Daniel McCutchen recovered from serving up a lead-off homer in his first start against the Reds to pitch six decent innings.  Jeff Manship also gave up a solo shot in his debut against the White Sox and settled down to go five innings, while Carlos Carrasco had a harder time against the Tigers, giving up three homers over three innings.

Tuesday 8 September

There are no early games tomorrow.  In the later games there are set to be starts by Pedro Martinez (against the Nationals), David Price (against the Yankees, both starting at 00.05), the Netherlands’ Rick van den Hurk (for the Marlins against the Mets at 00.10), Javier Vazquez (against the Astros), John Smoltz (against the Brewers, both starting at 01.05), Tim Lincecum (against the Padres at 03.15) and a great match-up in prospect between Felix Hernandez and Scott Kazmir (03.05).

Wednesday 9 September

17.05. Rangers @ Indians – TBD, Carmona (3-9)
17.35. Cubs @ Pirates – Zambrano (7-6), Hart (4-5)
19.05. Cardinals @ Brewers – Wainwright (17-7), Suppan (6-8)
20.45. Padres @ Giants – LeBlanc (1-1), Zito (9-11)

Wednesday’s games take us into the heart of the postseason races with the Rangers and Giants.  In both cases they are facing teams who are playing out the string and picking up wins in such games is crucial. 

St Louis are as good as home in the NL Central, yet Adam Wainwright has a personal achievement to work towards: twenty wins on the season.  Carlos Zambrano won’t get anywhere close to that figure in a frustrating season for both the pitcher and his team.  Finishing on a high is the best they can hope for and a series at PNC Park gives them a good opportunity to tack a few wins on the board.

Thursday 10 September

17.37. Twins @ Blue Jays – TBD, Halladay (14-8)
19.10. Tigers @ Royals – Washburn (9-9), TBD
20.10. Reds @ Rockies – Wells (1-3), Contreras (6-13).

Only seven games are being played in total on Thursday, so the ‘getaway’ day doesn’t provide quite so many early games as normal.  The Twins and Tigers are looking for wins on the road, whereas the Rockies need to maximise their home field advantage.  Colorado caught lightning in a bottle with Contreras’ first start, so it will be interesting to see if the Cuban can keep it up in his second.

The Twins’ odds of winning on Thursday are reduced by the presence of Roy Halladay, who was outstanding on Friday against the Yankees.  Outstanding isn’t a word you would associate with the Tigers’ Jarrod Washburn.  He hasn’t provided the boost they hoped for after joining the team just before the deadline, although his injured left knee may well be a reason for this. 

Friday 11 September

19.20. Reds @ Cubs – TBD, Harden (9-8)

We end the week with a game from Wrigley.  The Reds and Cubs meet up in an early contest to begin a big weekend of baseball, with no series bigger than the one in San Francisco between the Giants and 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.