MLB Opening Day 2013: Tv Schedule, Matchup Predictions, Preview, Live Stream Info
Major League Baseball's season begins in earnest today, as most of the teams begin their 162-game quests to the World Series. While hope springs eternal on Opening Day for fans of every franchise, some matchups are juicier than others.
Fans who love pitching will should make some popcorn, sit back, and watch the San Francisco Giants take on the big-money Los Angeles Dodgers. This game could be a baseball purist's pleasure, with each team sending a Cy Young candidate to the mound.
The defending champion Giants will trot out Matt Cain, who was 16-5 last season, with a 2.79 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 193 strikeouts. While teammate Tim Lincecum entered 2012 with greater pedigree and notoriety, Cain emerged as the clear ace of the championship staff.
He will be opposed by Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, a lefty hurler widely considered the top pitcher in the game not named Justin Verlander. Kershaw was 14-9 last season, posting a 2.53 ERA, a sterling 1.02 WHIP, and 229 strikeouts.
The Dodgers went on a huge spending spree at the trade deadline last season, acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett from the Boston Red Sox, and Hanley Ramirez from the Miami Marlins. That spree spilled into the offseason when they splurged on frontline starter Zack Greinke. Ramirez and Greinke have battled injuries this spring, however, and Ramirez is expected to be out until May.
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In action that has already kicked off, the Washington Nationals are on top of the Miami Marlins 2-0, on the strength of two solo home runs by phenom Bryce Harper in his first two at-bats. Harper was expected to take the league by storm in 2012, at the tender age of 19. While he had a very successful season, he was overshadowed by American League Rookie of the Year winner Mike Trout who contended for the AL MVP award.
Harper batted .270 with 22 home runs, 59 RBI and 18 stolen bases in his rookie year. He will also be joined by ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg for the entire 2013 campaign. In 2012, Strasburg pitched with an innings limit hovering over him all season, and was shut down in September by the organization to protect his arm for future seasons. Strasburg was held out of the postseason as well, and the Nationals fell to the St Louis Cardinals in the National League Divisional Series.
Miami made headlines in the offseason as well, but for all the wrong reasons. They traded Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers during their disastrous season, the first in a shiny new stadium. In the offseason, they dealt stars Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and Emilio Bonifacio to the Toronto Blue Jays in a move that angered fans and has them projected as one of the worst teams in baseball.
Monday April 1, 2013 All Times Eastern. Subject To Change.
