MLB Opening Day 2012: Breaking Down the Best Pitching Matchups

Major League Baseball has turned into a pitching league. Opening Day will showcase some of the best and brightest arms the sport has to offer,  and with seven games on the docket for today there are plenty of options to choose from. 

What we wanted to do was break down the best matchups scheduled for Thursday. Anyone can tell you to watch Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander or Clayton Kershaw, but we wanted to present both sides of the coin. 

With that in mind, here are the three best pitching matchups to watch for on the official Opening Day for the 2012 Major League Baseball season. 

Jon Lester (BOS) vs. Justin Verlander (DET)

You would be hard pressed to find a better pitching matchup on Opening Day than this battle between one of the best lefties in the game and the defending Cy Young and MVP Award winner. 

Verlander is going to get all the hype when the game starts, and deservedly so. The numbers he puts up year after year have made him arguably the best pitcher in baseball. 

Don't underestimate what Lester can do in this game. He is already one of the best pitchers in the game, but there seems to be more in that left arm that he can do. His cutter is as good as anyone's in the game, with the exception of Mariano Rivera. 

If you can only watch one game today, make it this one. 

Advantage: Verlander

Tommy Hanson (ATL) vs. Johan Santana (NYM)

This game is as much about sheer curiosity as it is the actual pitching matchup. 

Hanson and Santana have a lot of questions to answer as the season starts.

Hanson has dominant stuff; no one can deny that. But he battled shoulder injuries late last season, starting just 22 games, and his delivery has looked a little bit different this spring. Perhaps that means nothing, though it could mean he has changed things to compensate for the injury. That is always dangerous. 

Santana hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2010. He looked good in the spring and could be a saving grace at the top of the Mets rotation. If he can get back to even 80 percent of what he was before the shoulder surgery, the team will be happy. 

Advantage: Santana

Ricky Romero (TOR) vs. Justin Masterson (CLE)

This is the most underrated matchup of Opening Day. 

Romero made some positive strides last season, though his low BABIP (.242) suggests that he also got lucky when posting his 2.92 ERA. Still, he is on his way to being one of the best left-handed starters in the game. At just 27, this could be a breakout year for him. 

Masterson was supposed to be a reliever because of his funky delivery and inability to get lefties out. Instead, he has turned into a durable starter for an Indians team that desperately needs all the help it can get. 

Even though Masterson is a good No. 3, he has moments where he can dominate a lineup. Particularly if that lineup skews toward right-handed hitting, which the Blue Jays' does. 

Advantage: Romero

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