5 must-see matchups in MLB this weekend
From new faces in new places to key injuries to red-hot rookies, the start of baseball's 2016 season hasn't been short on storylines. As we head into the second full weekend of action, the schedule-makers - with a little help from Mother Nature, in one case - have given baseball fans a tantalizing array of delights to choose from.
It's not just teams and rivalries, either: There's several anticipated head-to-head matchups that will serve to spice up some of this weekend's sets. So get that remote ready, because here are five matchups every baseball fan should keep an eye on this weekend:
Price, Blue Jays finally square off
It won't be at Rogers Centre as many had hoped, but David Price will finally face his old friends from Toronto on Saturday for the first time since jumping ship to Boston. He'll host them at Fenway Park, where the Blue Jays hit .283/.348/.429 as a team in 2015, and scored over 10 runs in three of their five wins. But those numbers came against a last-place Boston team with a putrid rotation. The Red Sox will hope Price can quiet Toronto's Beantown-loving bats.
Bumgarner, Kershaw meet again
This would be must-see under normal circumstances, but a rematch six days after Madison Bumgarner took Clayton Kershaw deep for the second time in his career bumps this up to stop-what-you're-doing territory. The aces open the second Giants-Dodgers series of the season, and first at Dodger Stadium, on Friday night. Kershaw probably wants revenge for MadBum's dinger. Vin Scully will be on the mic. There, your Friday night's all planned out.
Red-hot rookies meet Cy Young arms
Rockies shortstop Trevor Story and Astros first baseman Tyler White each opened their major-league careers with historic Opening Week performances. On Saturday, both will face former Cy Young winners. Story gets the NL's reigning top pitcher in Jake Arrieta at Wrigley, while White steps in versus 2011 winner and former AL MVP Justin Verlander. Can these two established arms finally slow down baseball's newest sensations?
King Felix invades New York
To say Felix Hernandez likes pitching in the Bronx is an understatement. The former Cy Young winner owns a 1.38 ERA over eight starts at the new Yankee Stadium, and has also twirled a pair of shutouts at the venue. It's the perfect place for him to try to extend his red-hot start to 2016, as he faces CC Sabathia and the Yankees on Saturday.
Marquee free agents match up
The Giants and Dodgers dueled for NL West supremacy with their bank books over the winter. On Sunday night, it's our first chance to judge who spent their money more wisely as big-name free agents Jeff Samardzija and Kenta Maeda square off at Dodger Stadium. Samardzija will try to prove he's worth the money, while Maeda wants to live up to the hype after coming over from Japan. It's just another chapter in the historic rivalry between these teams.