Opening Days and Yu debut among highlights of Week 2

The second week of the Major League season brings about Opening Day festivities for those teams that couldn’t sample it during week one. The Twins, Phillies and AL East big guns of Boston and the Yankees are among those teams that will sample home cooking for the first time of the season.

On Monday a whole new week of baseball gets underway with the Marlins facing off against the Phillies, as both teams look to rebound from a disappointing early start to the season. While the Marlins stand 1-3, the Phillies lost to the Pirates and will be keen to get back on track as early as possible. The three game series is highlighted by a Josh Johnson-Roy Halladay match-up in the second clash on Wednesday.

Other intriguing clashes getting underway on Monday are the surprising 0-3 Yankees taking on the even more surprising 3-0 Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, while C.J. Wilson is set to make his Angels debut against the Twins, who will counter with Nick Blackburn, and Japanese phenom Yu Darvish will make his big league debut opposite Hector Noesi and the Seattle Mariners.

In the National League, the Atlanta Braves will be looking for their first win of the young season as they take on the Houston Astros in a three game set, while the Brewers and Cubs will be looking to bounce back from series losses.

On Tuesday, the two teams that swept the Red Sox and Yankees in week one will square off in a fascinating match-up as the high powered Tigers entertain the Tampa Bay Rays. James Shields and Justin Verlander will make for a tasty pitcher battle in game two on Wednesday, while the injury to Doug Fister means that Drew Smyly is set to go in game three.

Clayton Kershaw, assuming he is fully fit, is due to pitch on Tuesday against the Pirates, with Chad Billingsley looking to build upon his dominant first outing the following day against Erik Bedard, who pitched fantastically in the loss to Roy Halladay and the Phillies on Opening Day.

The most mouth watering match-up, however, will take place at Citi Field where Johan Santana and Stephen Strasburg are coming off sensational Opening Day performances (12.0 IP, 1 ER combined). While Santana will be looking to prove that he is capable of returning to the form that made him the most dominant pitcher in the game a few years ago, Strasburg will finally be looking for the chance to fulfil the potential and hype that came with the 2010 first overall draft pick.

Later on in the week, Jamie Moyer takes a second bite at the ‘oldest pitcher to win a Major League game’ cherry as he faces the anaemic San Francisco offence on Thursday at Coors Field, while a whole new slate of enticing series get underway on Friday.

The Angels and the Yankees square off in the Bronx in what could be an early ALCS preview, while the Cardinals and Cubs renew their yearly battle in Missouri, where Adam Wainwright will be searching for his first win for since the 2010 season in the series opener.

Josh Beckett will be looking to prove that his outing in Detroit is merely an anomaly as he looks to avoid another horror performance when he takes on David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway on Friday the 13th, while Cliff Lee aims for his first win of the season against the Mets.

The week finishes with the usual Sunday night game, with the Angels taking on the Yankees in the third game of that series.

It’s sure to be a good one!