The Atlanta Braves host the Philadelphia Phillies in what has become a familiar pitching matchup between Kenshin Kawakami and Roy Halladay. The game starts at 1:05 on Fox Sports South and MLB Network.
Braves Lineup:
1. Martin Prado, LF
2. Nate McLouth, CF
3. Chipper Jones, 3B
4. Dan Uggla, 2B
5. Jason Heyward, RF
6. Eric Hinske, 1B
7. Alex Gonzalez, SS
8. J.C. Boscan, C
9. Kenshin Kawakami, SP
Phillies Lineup:
1. Placido Polanco, 3B
2. Luis Castillo, 2B
3. Raul Ibanez, LF
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Shane Victorino, CF
6. Ben Francisco, RF
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. Wilson Valdez, 3B
9. Roy Halladay, SP
I'm sure both teams will be treating this like a real game, as both have most of their starters in and most of the roster spots have probably been figured out by now. Kawakami likely won't go as far as Halladay due to arriving at camp late, but he has pitched pretty well so far to have been thrown in the fire without much prep time.
The Phillies are giving Castillo every chance they can, apparently, starting him on a daily basis ever since he was signed. The audition time is quite small, however, so it's not for certain that he will be starting at second base for the Phillies on Opening Day.
According to David O'Brien, Brooks Conrad, Brandon Hicks and Matt Young have made the 25-man roster. This is probably the best possible way to go about making the Braves bench, so you can't be disappointed in this. Congratulations to Young, who has toiled in the minors long enough and deserves this.
Matt Young on making opening-day roster at 28, after six full seasons in the minors: "I don’t have words to describe it. I don’t even know. Called my folks and didn’t get an answer. I guess it’s too early for them. I’ll try to get ‘em after the game."
"Fredi told me and I kind of blacked out, like in Old School. I kind of blacked out and couldn’t hear what he was saying."