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There are five games beginning before midnight UK time today.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\nThere are five games beginning before midnight UK time today.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The A’s and Twins start us off at 18.10 before four games get underway at 21.10.\u00c2\u00a0 They include the Twins’ AL Central rivals and battles involving teams from each division in the National League.<\/p>\n
All times are in BST.<\/p>\n
18.10. Oakland at Minnesota (Dallas Braden – Kevin Slowey)<\/strong><\/p>\n The A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beat the Twins 3-1 yesterday, although the Tigers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 win over the White Sox meant that Minnesota maintained their nine game lead in the AL Central.\u00c2\u00a0 Braden pitched superbly against the Rangers back on 28 August (a complete game shutout) to level his win-loss record at 9-9 but has suffered three straight losses since then, never making it through six complete innings.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be looking for a better performance today.\u00c2\u00a0 As for Slowey, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitched well, if not going deep into games, in his two starts since coming off the DL.<\/p>\n 21.10. Detroit at Chicago White Sox (Justin Verlander – Lucas Harrell)<\/strong><\/p>\n The always combative Ozzie Guillen will not be prepared to concede the Central to the Twins just yet, but the White Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recent poor form has all but ruled them out of making the postseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Chicago has won only two of their last ten games and\u00c2\u00a0 their current losing streak was extended to four games last night after Max Scherzer tied them up in knots as the Tigers prevailed 9-2.\u00c2\u00a0 Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitching match-up heavily favours Detroit as well.\u00c2\u00a0 Harrell makes the start in place of the injured Freddy Garcia.<\/p>\n 21.10. Colorado at LA Dodgers (Jhoulys Chacin – John Ely)<\/strong><\/p>\n Never rule out the Rockies.\u00c2\u00a0 They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on yet another September surge and are now just 1.5 games behind the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants after winning the series-opener against the Dodgers yesterday.\u00c2\u00a0 The Rockies host the Giants for three games over 24-26 September, so if they can take some more games from the Dodgers and the D-Backs in the run-up to that series, they could put themselves in pole position: a real turnaround from only a couple of weeks ago.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Chacin has been a useful addition to the Rockies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rotation, although he lasted only four innings against the D-Backs last time out.\u00c2\u00a0 Ely filled in for Vicente Padilla against the Astros last Saturday and is expected to pitch again today.\u00c2\u00a0 This game is presumably one of the FOX offerings, so expect plenty of chatter about Don Mattingly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s transition to being the Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 manager in 2011 and speculation about Joe Torre\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans for next year.<\/p>\n 21.10. Atlanta at NY Mets (Tim Hudson – Dillon Gee)<\/strong><\/p>\n With the Phillies riding a five-game winning streak, the Braves are now three games behind in the NL East and have just a 1.5 game lead over San Diego in the Wild Card race.\u00c2\u00a0 Time to start winning some games.\u00c2\u00a0 Tim Hudson has had a terrific season for the Braves and has become another example of a pitcher returning strongly after Tommy John surgery.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets are having another disappointing season and, frankly, there doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t appear to be much fight left in them.\u00c2\u00a0 However, a young starter like Gee has every reason to give his all and to make a good impression.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s given up just one run in his two starts, although he has walked seven batters over those thirteen innings.<\/p>\n 21.10. San Diego at St. Louis (Chris Young – Jeff Suppan)<\/strong><\/p>\n Yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have gone much worse for the Padres.\u00c2\u00a0 Mat Latos was chased by the Cards after just 1.1 innings having given up eight earned runs.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only did that put them in a hole that they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recover from, they lost 14-4, a short start was the last thing the Padres needed as Chris Young is not expected to work very deep into today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game.\u00c2\u00a0 He has made only one Major League start this season, back on 6 April, and has been working his way back from a shoulder injury.\u00c2\u00a0 The Cardinals trail the Reds by six games in the NL Central and might still feel they have an outside chance of causing an upset and winning the division at the last.\u00c2\u00a0 Needless to say, both teams will be desperate to win this one to keep their postseason hopes alive.<\/p>\n