Keeping Things Interesting: May 1, 2009

Yesterday's Most Interesting
The Red Sox went into Tampa Bay yesterday figuring to get even, to some degree, for their loss in the ALCS last October and for the 2 out of 3 game series victory the Rays claimed in Boston to open the season. Fresno State alum Matt Garza had other thoughts. Garza handcuffed the Sox early on, retiring the first 18 batters of the game before allowing an infield single to Jacoby Ellsbury. In the end, Garza pitched 7.2 innings while striking out ten Red Sox, and the Rays shut out the Sox 13-0.

Today's Most Interesting
The season is still young, but there's one thing that I know for sure: if you're looking for a good pitching matchup on any random day of the week, you rarely have to look further than the whichever two NL West teams are playing. Case in point: today, the Dodgers face the Padres, and the matchup is between Jake Peavy and the young, but good Clayton Kershaw. It may not be quite as marquis as some of the potential NL West matchups, but it's still pretty good.

The most interesting game of the day, though, is the matchup between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. Meeting for the first time since last September, as the Phillies were on their way to overtaking the Mets and winning the World Series. Tonight's matchup is far from spectacular, but that's not the point. The recent history between these two teams is phenomenally interesting, with the late-season battles and jockeying for position. Tonight's game may be early in the season, but it still represents two teams who have strong feelings for each and who know that their games against each other mean something in the end. So, even though tonight's game is a matchup between Mike Pelfrey and Chan Ho Park, it is still the most interesting game of the day.