There’s no fewer than sixteen games taking place during the daytime in the U.S. this week, giving British fans plenty of choice when it comes to watching or listening to some live MLB games during the evening over here.  All times are listed in BST. 

Monday 1 September – It’s Labor Day in the States, which means we get to enjoy seven early games to begin the week. We start in Detroit where the Tigers host the Yankees at 18.05.  Five minutes later, it’s a clash from the NL East as Mike Hampton and the Braves take on Josh Johnson and the Marlins.  We have a great pitching match-up at 19.05 as Johan Santana and Ben Sheets are scheduled to take the mound in the game between the Mets and the Brewers.  Two games begin an hour later: the Phillies versus the Nationals and the Giants versus the Rockies.  Roy Oswalt and the Astros face a tough test at Wrigley Field against the Cubs (first pitch at 21.05), as do the Cardinals in their game against Randy Johnson and the D-Backs (first pitch at 21.10).

Tuesday 2 September – After yesterday’s glut of games, there is no early action today.  In the later games, Fausto Carmona and the Indians may be out of the AL Central race, but they will be keen to inflict a defeat on the White Sox all the same (00.05).  The Yankees try to get a game back on the Rays as Mike Mussina squares off against Matt Garza (00.10), while Tim Lincecum looks for win number 16 on the season as the Giants face the Rockies at Coors Field (01.35).

Wednesday 3 September – It’s ‘seven up’ for the second time in the week.  The games begin in Cleveland at 17.05 as the Indians play the White Sox.  At 18.10, the Braves take on the Marlins and twenty-five minutes later Daisuke Matsuzaka makes a start for the Red Sox against the Orioles.  The Mets and the Brewers continue their series at 19.05, with Oliver Perez and Dave Bush being the probable pitchers, while Felix Hernandez should take the hill against the Rangers at the same time.  Barry Zito tries to avoid being handed his seventeenth loss of the season as the Giants face the Rockies from 20.05, while Doug Davis should get the start for Arizona thirty-five minutes later against the Cardinals.

Thursday 4th September – The early action continues with two games today.  At 17.35, the Pirates begin their game against the Reds, with Tom Gorzelanny and Josh Fogg starting.  The other early game begins at 18.05 and sees the Angels taking on the Tigers.  The probable pitching match-up at the moment is Ervin Santana versus Kenny Rogers.

Friday 5th September – There are no early games to end the week, but anyone awake in the early hours of Saturday can enjoy the opening game of a number of important series that will take place over the weekend.  Just to pick out a few: the Rays versus the Blue Jays, the Phillies versus the Mets, the Angels versus the White Sox and the D-Backs versus the Dodgers.

It’s a late start in the Wednesday night game on Five (02.30), which no doubt means it will be broadcast ‘off tape’, while NASN’s MLB schedule for the week can be found here.