Baseball is back. With a near full slate of games on opening day, we are finally witnessing the official start of our national pastime.
Some divisions may very well be wide open, especially both of the western divisions. Others have clear cut front runners who should be playing October baseball this fall.
While the 162-game schedule isn’t anywhere near a sprint, it’s important for teams to get off to good starts. Here are the five-best series set to take place during the opening week of regular season action.
1. Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners
Starting Monday, these two top contenders for the American League West title will open the season with a three-game set. The opener—pitting Jered Weaver against Felix Hernandez—promises to be a dandy. The other two games will see C.J. Wilson and Matt Shoemaker take the bump for the Angels against a solid two-three punch in James Paxton and Hisashi Iwakuma.
With runs likely to be at a premium in this series, it’s going to be interesting to see how new Mariners hitters perform against a solid rotation that the Angels possess. For the Angels, they are going to have to get some production from the bottom of the order to take the season-opening series.
2. Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
The defending American League champs going up against a team that is probably its biggest competition for the division title in 2015. Chicago did a tremendous job adding talent to both its pitching staff and lineup in the offseason.
With James Shields now in San Diego, youngster Yordano Ventura takes over as the Royals staff ace. He put up a 14-10 record with a 3.20 ERA during a stellar 2014 campaign. Opposing Ventura on the hill for the White Sox will be the newly acquired Jeff Samardzija, who came over from Oakland in a blockbuster deal. Samardzija finished last season six games under .500, but was able to post a 2.99 ERA between the Cubs and the A’s. This matchup promises to be rather interesting.
After an off day on Tuesday, Jose Quintana and John Danks will take to the mound for the Sox. They will go up against Danny Duffy and Edinson Volquez respectively.
3. San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers
If the pattern of the San Francisco Giants struggling in odd years rings true in 2015, these are the two teams likely to vie for the National League West title. San Diego did a tremendous job adding pop to a lineup that hasn’t been much of a threat in recent seasons. Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Melvin Upton and Derek Norris should be more than enough to help San Diego contend. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be throwing out a vastly improved lineup from a season ago, including new additions Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick.
In this season opening series, the first game is going to tell us where each team stands early on. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers against the newly acquired James Shields for the Padres. Showing just how deep their rotation is, the Dodgers will throw Zack Greinke and Brandon McCarthy to the bump in the other outings against Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner for the Padres.
4. Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
Most experts have the Boston Red Sox winning the American League East, but these two dark horses will ultimately have some say in the division race. Toronto added some pop to its lineup by trading for All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson, who will team up with Jose Batista and Edwin Encarnacion to form a solid middle of the lineup. Meanwhile, it appears the Yankees will be relying on what could be a surprising rotation.
The opener will pit the Blue Jays’ Drew Hutchison (11-13, 4.48 last season) against Masahiro Tanaka (13-5, 2.77). Meanwhile, R.A. Dickey and Michael Pineda will go up against one another in an intriguing matchup on Wendesday.
5. Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics
We already know both teams possess solid top-end rotation guys, but we will get an early sample of where each stands as it relates to depth. The Mariners will send J.A. Happ to the mound against a talented youngster in Drew Pomeranz on Friday. However, Saturday’s matchup will be one of the best of the opening week around MLB. Sonny Gray will take the bump for the home-standing A’s against fellow young arm Taijuan Walker. Then on Sunday, Jesse Hahn is likely going to take the bump against the aforementioned Felix Hernandez.
While some seem to think the A’s are going to take a step back this year, the team possesses much more flexibility in its lineup than a year ago. Heck, manager Bob Melvin can throw out an all right-handed and an all left-handed lineup on a given day. With that said, Oakland’s rotation will be the reason the team contends in 2015. It’s loaded with young talent.
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