NL East Opening Day Series Previews
Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
While the opening series in Australia only five days away between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the rest of baseball has an extra week of spring training before throwing out the first pitch of the season. Once March rolls into April, the hype of college basketball will be about over, and baseball can take center stage with Opening Day. Here’s a look at the opening series for the NL East teams.
Washington Nationals at New York Mets
This is the only series featuring two NL East opponents. Neither team has announced their opening day starter at this point, but the Nationals have an assortment of options to get their season underway. Stephen Strasburg may be the fan favorite because of his high heat, but Gio Gonzalez is more than capable of starting Opening Day. He is a 20-game winner who has proven he can pitch with the best of them.
The Mets have more question marks than the Riddler in Batman movies. Bartolo Colon is listed as the team’s number one on their official depth chart. With Jon Niese injured, Colon may be the best option to start Opening Day at this point. He has more experience than the rest of the pitching staff combined. Even if he struggles, there are extra off days early in the season to allow the bullpen to work overtime if needed.
This series should set the tone for the season for both teams. Washington likely will win the series with the possibility of a sweep looming. Washington is on the upswing and looking to get off to a hot start after a disappointing finish to 2013. New York has little hope of competing within their division this season, but everybody is tied for first at the beginning. That beginning might be short lived if the Mets can’t find a way to win at least one game against the Nationals.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Phillies at Texas Rangers
Interleague games year round mean that there is always a series involving an American League team and a National League team. The Phillies have the luxury of being the first NL team of the year to utilize the DH rule. Although they have yet to announce their Opening Day starter, the Phils will have to go up against Cy Young candidate Yu Darvish.
Cliff Lee seems to be the most likely candidate to start the first game for Philadelphia. With Cole Hamels injured, Lee is the next best arm in the rotation.
The Phillies will be going up against a tough Texas Rangers team that acquired Prince Fielder from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for longtime second baseman Ian Kinsler. The Rangers may have lost Nelson Cruz, but they have plenty of power bats in Fielder, third baseman Adrian Beltre, and newly acquired left fielder Shin-Soo Choo. Lee will have his hands full against a team that was one win away last season from clinching a wild card berth.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Braves at Milwaukee Brewers
The Atlanta Braves have an assortment of pitching injuries, which will probably leave youngster Julio Teheran as the team’s Opening Day starter. Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy, and Mike Minor are all injured and do not have set return dates. Teheran just signed a lucrative contract extension in the off-season, so he will start earning his new salary from day one.
Atlanta’s roster is poised to repeat as division champs in 2014, although Freddie Freeman’s injury remains to be diagnosed. He is a big piece to the puzzle that the Braves could ill afford to lose before they even start playing for real.
The Brewers will be throwing Yovani Gallardo on the mound to start the season. After going 12-10 a year ago, he now has the likes of Ryan Braun back in the lineup to help cause some damage to opposing pitchers. Carlos Gomez will look to have the same success he did against Atlanta last year minus the circus that followed. Gomez was in an altercation at home plate with then-Braves catcher Brian McCann after Gomez showboated after hitting a home run.
McCann is now in New York, but Evan Gattis is just as intimidating. His role as everyday catcher will start on the road and who knows who he will be catching during the opening weekend.
Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado Rockies at Miami Marlins
Jose Fernandez will take the ball in his first Opening Day start for the Marlins against Jorge De La Rosa of the Rockies. Two of the worst National League teams in 2013 will square-off with one of them having a winning record after the first series.
The Marlins may not be much of a threat offensively, but their ace and reigning ROY will look to shut down a team who is without longtime first baseman Todd Helton after he retired following the end of last season. Colorado replaced him with former Twin and Pirate Justin Morneau.
Another former Pirate in Garrett Jones will be manning first base for the Marlins. He will try to help Giancarlo Stanton and young star Christian Yelich take down De La Rosa who went 16-6 last year for Colorado. Yelich will be the probable starter in left field and get a full Major League season in. He batted .288 in 62 games last season. Stanton is hoping to rebound after injuries slowed him down in 2013; he still managed 24 home runs in 116 games.
Miami might not have much to play for after the all-star break, but they need to come out fighting from the start. If they hope to have any chance of finding a miracle season out of this bunch of guys, they could benefit greatly from an opening series win and perhaps even a sweep over an NL West foe.