MLB Opening Day 2012: Top Matchups to Get Most Excited About

Opening Day of the 2012 MLB season is finally here (stateside, at least) and another awesome year of baseball is upon us.

Unfortunately, some of the games this week are a bit drabber than others. No worries though, as we are here to highlight some of the more intriguing matchups and ones you cannot miss as a baseball fan.

Let’s take a look.

Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers (April 5 at 1:05 p.m. EST)

The Red Sox are looking to regain their footing as an elite MLB team, not the laughing stock of the league known for fried chicken, beer, collapsing and blowing up.

They have a great chance to show their offseason improvement—if there truly was any—against a likely postseason team in the Detroit Tigers.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Miami Marlins (April 4 at 7:05 p.m. EST)

Miami is debuting a rebuilt and relocated team in a new stadium against the defending World Series champions.

This is going to be a great matchup, even though the Marlins look a bit better on paper with their free-agent acquisitions—notably Jose Reyes and Heath Bell—and the Cardinals' loss of manager and star, Tony La Russa and Albert Pujols, respectively.

San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (April 6 at 2:05 p.m. EST)

The Giants are looking to redeem themselves after missing the postseason following a 2010 World Series victory.

Arizona is looking to win the NL West again and make a deep playoff run.

Both sides have a lot on the line from day one and this should be a hotly contested game.