BASEBALL MLB ARTICLES

One of the game’s best rivalries takes center stage on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals playing host to the Chicago Cubs in the finale of a three game weekend series. In the last couple years, the Cubs have had the edge in this series, but St. Louis is looking to close the gap in 2018. Starting in this game for the Cubs is veteran lefty Jon Lester while the Cardinals haven’t yet announced their starter. They could go with Michael Wacha on normal rest. ... 

The third game of a four-game rematch of the 2017 ALCS, the Houston Astros play host to the New York Yankees in a nationally televised Wednesday Night ESPN showing. Perhaps the best pitching matchup of the bunch, Luis Severino will oppose Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel had the better series in the ALCS, can he also win this matchup or is a beefed-up Yankee offense too much to overcome, particularly with Severino on the bump? ... 

The New York Yankees and Houston Astros are poised for a fun four-game series, a rematch of sorts to the 2017 ALCS where the Astros squeezed by the Yankees in a hard fought seven-game series. This series could be just as close. On the mound, Houston has the apparent advantage—at least to start—with Charlie Morton, Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. opposite Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka. The bullpen, however, is stronger in New York. Both teams though have the offense to overcome good pitching. ... 

We have a west coast, twilight start time for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball as Shohei Ohtani show gets some national, primetime air against the Evil Empire. The New York Yankees are back as a powerhouse team and the Los Angeles Angels have both the biggest name in the international arena and the best player in the game, making a very intriguing matchup. With a pair of southpaws on the mound in C.C. Sabathia and Tyler Skaggs, that just adds an extra wrinkle. ... 

Playing a bit better baseball, the Chicago Cubs got back to, and above, .500 while coming out of the gate slow for the second consecutive season. The Cubs are playing flat. They’ll look to get some momentum going over the weekend heading into the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Monday. In a potential battle of aces, Jon Gray and Jon Lester are lined up for the start. While neither hurler is a classic ace at this point in their respective careers, they both are taking on that leadership role. ... 

The Los Angeles will host the New York Yankees over the weekend with a nationally televised game on Saturday night. These two teams are nearly even based on record and both will be looking to make a statement. For the Angels, they’ll try and show they can win at home after since their 11-2 road record is the main reason for their early success while the Bronx Bombers will see if their powerful offense can bomb anywhere outside of the Big Apple. A pitching matchup of two talented wildcards in Masahiro Tanaka and Garrett Richards brings added intrigue. ... 

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals meet for the middle game of a three-game weekend series on Saturday with both teams trending in opposite directions. Coming into the year, the Nationals were a favorite to win the NL, but currently sit under-.500 after a weak start. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are off to an even better start than a year ago. They’ll send the red-hot Patrick Corbin to the hill on Saturday opposite Washington’s second choice in the rotation’s fifth spot, Jeremy Hellickson. ... 

In a 2016 World Series rematch, the Cleveland Indians host the Chicago Cubs in a brief two-game series starting on Tuesday. Both teams took their respective divisions again in 2017, but neither were repeat visitors to the Fall Classic. Here in the early going of 2018, the Tribe has ascended back to the top of the AL Central, but the Cubbies, at a game over-.500 sit in fourth place, eager to start playing better baseball. Some of that improvement will need to come from the rotation where Tyler Chatwood will lead the Cubs into battle on Tuesday as Josh Tomlin takes the hill for Cleveland. ... 

The Houston Astros will face-off against their biggest competition for the AL West crown in a three-game series beginning Monday, playing host to the Los Angeles Angels who come into the series 9-1 away from home. The Astros are an even better team—at least on paper—than the one that won the World Series last year, but the Angels are quite possibly the most improved team in the AL provided the pitching holds up. Prior to a sweep at the hands of the red-hot Red Sox, the Angels were 13-4 and sitting atop the division. Can they curtain their losing ways and regain ground against the ‘Stros in this series? ... 

The Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees kick off a four-game series on Monday with their first matchup since meeting in the AL Wild Card game last October. The Yankees won a wild one in the Bronx that day. They’ll be looking for a similar result, but a much less eventful path to the victory on Monday. So far this year, the Twins have been the better team based on record, but New York has held in there in spite of a rash of injuries. ... 

This week, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball will feature two teams trying to rebound off tough starts as the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers close out an important three-game series in La La Land. Both teams have had to deal with their share of adversity early, but both have started playing better baseball. With Alex Wood and Jeremy Hellickson on the bump, which team will close out the series with a win in prime time on national television.... 

It’s been a dreadful start to the season for the Baltimore Orioles who are coming off a sweep at the hands of the Tigers. Baltimore is now nine games under-.500 and needs to get back on track quickly. They have another tough matchup on Saturday in the middle game of a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians. The Orioles send their troubled starter Chris Tillman to the hill hoping for better results than he’s shown the last two years while the Tribe has a much more reliable Mike Clevinger toeing the rubber. ... 

Preseason, many saw this Washington Nationals versus Los Angeles Dodgers matchup as a possible early postseason preview. That, of course, could still be the case, but both the Nationals and the Dodgers need to play better baseball to get to October atop their respective divisions. The defending National League champion Dodgers have come out of the gate flat while the Nationals have struggled through some injuries in the cold, unable to capture any momentum either.... 

In the second game of the two-game showcase series in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Minnesota Twins will serve as the home team for the second straight night, ‘hosting’ the Cleveland Indians. Losing two home games as part of the Commissioner’s initiative to spread the game internationally is a concession for the Twinkies, but a win would put the concern behind them. After a battle of Opening Day starters on Tuesday, Wednesday’s pitching matchup may be even better with Carlos Carrasco and Jose Berrios going toe-to-toe as the battle for the AL Central continues. ... 

In an early glimpse into a potential American League Central divisional showdown, the Minnesota Twins will host the Cleveland Indians in the first of 19 match ups on Tuesday night. The Twins figure to be the primary competition for the Tribe as they look for another AL Central title and deep postseason run. Minnesota made several offseason acquisitions to help close the gap including the addition of pitchers such as Jake Odorizzi who gets the ball on Tuesday opposite Indians’ ace Corey Kluber. ... 

The Texas Rangers have lost four games in a row and go into Houston to take on the Houston Astros over the weekend, capped off by ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball matchup on Sunday night. The battle for the state of Texas used to favor the Rangers not too long ago, but you need look no further than the pitching matchup which features Bartolo Colon and Justin Verlander to see just how much the tides have changed.
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The New York Yankees have lacked consistency and look largely overrated after two weeks, but a series against the Detroit Tigers may be just what the Bombers need to get back on track. In Sunday’s series finale, the Yankees will turn to their ace to close out a series win and—ideally—a sweep to pad the early standings as Luis Severino takes the mound opposite a southpaw still trying to solidify his place in the majors in Matthew Boyd. ... 

In all the Shohei Ohtani mania, Mike Trout has somehow become a second thought on this team. He’s had a slow start by his standards, but still leads the surprising Los Angeles Angels in home runs and RBIs. The Halos will try and continue their excellent start over the weekend as they take on the Kansas City Royals. In Saturday’s game, they look to Garrett Richards on the mound against Jakob Junis. ... 

In what is a Boston tradition, the Boston Red Sow will host an early morning game with a 11:05 a.m. ET first pitch on Patriots’ Day. The Baltimore Orioles are the opponent this season. The last time these two teams met on Patriots’ Day, the Red Sox won 7-1 in 2015. This time around, the Orioles will look for different results as the Birds send Andrew Cashner to the hill against what will likely be David Price making the start for the Sox. ... 

Monday marks the first of 19 meetings between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, two of the sport’s biggest rivals. Both teams are off to slower than expected starts. A win in the series opener could set the tone for the already important three-game set. Both teams have veteran arms toeing the rubber in the contest with Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester set to take the hill, giving fans two gritty veterans to watch.... 

Friday night, the Chicago Cubs kick off their second home series of the young season, playing host to the Atlanta Braves. Chicago has gotten off to an inconsistent start to the year with injuries, weather and rocky performances intertwined with a few glimpses into just how good this team could be. On the other side, the Braves have shown some early progress. Can they sustain it against Yu Darvish and the Cubs on Friday afternoon? ... 

After a strong 8-1 start, the Boston Red Sox will get to defend their early season record against their most likely competitors in the New York Yankees. This newest installment of the storied rivalry between these two legendary teams boasts an excellent pitching matchup and plenty of storylines. Chris Sale and Luis Severino are scheduled to toe the rubber with each team looking to establish a dominance over the other to carry them throughout the season. ... 

Nearly two weeks into the regular season and we finally have our first series of the vaunted New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox rivalry. The gold mine of the national baseball coverage, all three games of this series will be broadcast nationally with the fans getting its first real look at what many believe to be the most hotly contested divisional race. The series, of course, brings excellent pitching matchups with Chris Sales and David Price both on the docket for Boston and Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka on deck for the Yanks.... 

This game kicks off the seasons’ second full week and will already mark the start of the second series of the year between the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis took the first series in Milwaukee and now get a chance to stick it to the Brew Crew again at home, but to do so, Miles Mikolas will need a better start than he had the first time around. Of course, for Milwaukee to get revenge, they’ll need a better showing from Jhoulys Chacin than they got in his Brewers’ debut.... 

The New York Mets and Washington Nationals close out their three-game weekend series in primetime on Sunday night as part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Game of the Week. This is the National’s home opening series bringing an extra bit of excitement to an already excellent matchup between divisional rivals. Wrapping up a series of fun pitching matchups, Matt Harvey and Tanner Roark take the mound, each coming off strong season debuts on the heels of disappointing 2017 campaigns. ...