The Major League Baseball season is underway and once again ESPN Australia will be providing us with some quality games all season long. We preview some of the key matchups on Tuesday, the 11th of April including the televised LA Dodgers at Chicago Cubs from 10am here.
LA Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (10.00am AEST ESPN2HD)
The Dodgers head to Wrigley Field to take on the Cubs in the first game of the three game series. LA have started a little shaky and have a 3-3 win loss record early in the season. Left arm pitcher Alex Wood gets his first start of the yr for the Dodgers as he replaced an injured Rich Hill who is struck down with injury. The Dodgers have been hit hard with injuries with a number of players on the 10 day disabled list, including Pedro Baez and Scott Kazmir. Despite the injuries to key pitches the offense is strong, with the team ranked fourth for home runs and fifth in the league for hits.
The Cubs are 3-2 heading into this series but have won the last two straight against the Brewers. Jon Lester is called up for his second game of the season. Lester was effective in his first game, he threw five innings allowing one earned run on seven hits. In the past he has been a handful for the Dodgers with allowing three home runs on 22 hits, with Franklin Gutierrez causing the most trouble for Lester. This is the first time the teams have met since the Cubs won 5-0 to advance to the 2016 World Series.
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Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers (3.10am AEST)
In the last game of the four game series, the Red Sox will try and even things up as they bring in their now number one pitcher Chris Sale. Sale was outstanding in his first game for the club with management and fans pleased to see him at the mound. He threw seven scoreless innings allowing three hits and one walk, the only negative was he wasn’t great behind the bat. The Sox have been hit with injuries as well, but should have Mookie Betts back for this game. While Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts will be unavailable as they fight to be healthy.
The Tigers won the first two games of the series with a impressive display behind the bat, with 15 home runs on 26 hits. The Cy Young 2016 runner up Justin Verlander will start for the Tigers as he tries and back up his record breaking opening game. Verlander notched 10 strikeouts in just over six innings, as he tied the Tigers franchise record for opening day strikeouts. This game should be a little different from the first three games with two number one pitches entering the game.
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San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies (11.40 AEST)
The Padres were outplayed early by San Francisco as they struggled to comeback after the Giants hit five runs after three innings on Monday. Trevor Cahill was expected to pitch in this game but now has been replaced by Jarred Cosart. This is Cosart first start as he tries and stop a fast starting Colorado.
The Rockies are off to a flyer with a 5-2 record after losing to the Dodgers in Mondays game. They won two out of three against the Dodgers and gave Kershaw back to back homers for the first time in his career. Tyler Chatwood starts in this game, in his second start for the season as he will be hoping for a better his first performance as he gave up four runs on seven hits.
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