I haven’t been able to write up a Saturday preview for a couple of weeks, but I’ve certainly chosen a good day to get back into the routine.  We’ve got five games starting before midnight today UK time, including games from the AL East, NL East and NL West races.

All times are in BST.

18.05. Florida at Washington (Anibal Sanchez – Jason Marquis)

The Marlins are too far out to be considered Wild Card contenders, but that will not stop this game from being fiercely contested.  Last night’s game, which the Marlins won 3-1, was the first time the two sides had met since the unseemly brawl on 1 September and while things didn’t boil over again, you get the sense that the talk of things being ‘in the past’ might not reflect the reality.

18.07. Tampa Bay at Toronto (Wade Davis – Ricky Romero)

The Rays needed a win and they got it last night in the ninth thanks to a throwing error by Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar that allowed Evan Longoria to score the go-ahead run.  It was a big win for Tampa Bay as well, coming in a game when they let an 8-1 lead slip to an 8-8 tie in the seventh inning.  Losing from such a commanding position would have been a killer for Joe Maddon’s men so they can go into today’s game with renewed confidence, albeit being wary of the longball threat that Toronto possess, not least in Jose Bautista who went deep twice yesterday to take his Major-League leading home run total to 46.

21.10. St. Louis at Atlanta (Jake Westbrook – Tommy Hanson)

Having relinquished their lead in the NL East to the Phillies, it’s imperative that the Braves keep their nerve and just concentrate on the games ahead.  They evened up their series against the Cardinals 1-1 last night with an 8-6 win over Chris Carpenter, despite the Cards’ starter helping his own cause with a home run.  Tommy Hanson has pitched much better for the Braves this season than his 9-11 and has a 2.75 ERA in his eleven starts since the All-Star break.

21.10. Philadelphia at NY Mets (Kyle Kendrick – Mike Pelfrey)

The Phillies are now riding a four-game winning streak after Roy Halladay led them to an 8-4 win over the Mets in the series opener yesterday.  Chase Utley and Ryan Howard both went deep and, having missed those two key players for stretches during the season, that made for a welcome sight for Phillies fans looking at the box score this morning.  Pelfrey has had two unimpressive outings for the Mets leading up to his start today, all the more frustrating for Mets fans because he was so good prior to that (1.82 ERA in five starts during August).  He has faced the Phillies three teams already this season, going 1-2 and giving up nine runs in eighteen innings, striking out eight and walking six.

21.10. San Francisco at San Diego (Madison Bumgarner – Tim Stauffer)

Alongside the NL East, the NL West promises to be the most exciting race down the stretch and we get a chance to watch a game between the top two teams today.  The Padres briefly righted the ship after a recent ten-game losing streak by sweeping the Dodgers, but the Giants have now won the first two games of this four-game series at Petco to draw level at the top of the division.  This division figures to go down to the wire, with the Rockies’ eight-game winning streak bringing them back into contention as well, so nothing will be decided over the next couple of days.  However, the Padres will be desperate to win these next two games to stop their rivals walking away with a series win, not to mention a series sweep.

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com