MLB Spring Training 2013 Schedule: Dates and Times for Opening Week

The first week of spring training is nearing its conclusion and, at least so far, the pitchers have the advantage. It's a common theme during the early portion of the schedule as hitters are still getting their bat speed up to game level.

More importantly, the number of serious injuries has been limited and that's what teams are hoping for above all else. They don't want to lose any key players early in spring. The biggest loss was Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees, who will miss 10 weeks with a fractured forearm.

Let's take a look at the complete schedule for the last few days of the opening week, followed by the top game on tap for each day. For a further list of the spring training games on the horizon with about one month until Opening Day, visit MLB's official site.

Remaining Schedule for Opening Week

Thursday, Feb. 28

Road Team	Home Team	Time (ET)
Atlanta Braves	Philadelphia Phillies	1:05 p.m.
Baltimore Orioles	Minnesota Twins	1:05 p.m.
Boston Red Sox	Pittsburgh Pirates	1:05 p.m.
Detroit Tigers	Tampa Bay Rays	1:05 p.m.
Miami Marlins	St. Louis Cardinals	1:05 p.m.
New York Yankees (ss)	Houston Astros	1:05 p.m.
Toronto Blue Jays	New York Yankees (ss)	1:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Angels	Los Angeles Dodgers	3:05 p.m.
Arizona Diamondbacks	Cincinnati Reds (ss)	3:05 p.m
Chicago White Sox	Milwaukee Brewers	3:05 p.m.
Cleveland Indians	Texas Rangers	3:05 p.m.
Kansas City Royals	San Diego Padres	3:05 p.m.
Oakland Athletics	Chicago Cubs	3:05 p.m.
Seattle Mariners	San Francisco Giants	3:05 p.m.
Cincinnati Reds (ss)	Colorado Rockies	3:10 p.m.
New York Mets	Washington Nationals	6:05 p.m.

Friday, March 1

Road Team	Home Team	Time (ET)
Minnesota Twins	Miami Marlins	1:05 p.m.
Philadelphia Phillies	New York Yankees	1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh Pirates (ss)	Baltimore Orioles	1:05 p.m.
St. Louis Cardinals	Houston Astros	1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay Rays	Toronto Blue Jays	1:05 p.m.
Detroit Tigers	New York Mets	1:10 p.m.
Arizona Diamondbacks	Chicago Cubs	3:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox	Cleveland Indians	3:05 p.m.
Cincinnati Reds	Kansas City Royals	3:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers (ss)	Los Angeles Angels	3:05 p.m.
San Diego Padres	Los Angeles Dodgers (ss)	3:05 p.m.
San Francisco Giants	Oakland Athletics	3:05 p.m.
Texas Rangers	Seattle Mariners	3:05 p.m.
Milwaukee Brewers	Colorado Rockies	3:10 p.m.
Washington Nationals	Atlanta Braves	6:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh Pirates (ss)	Boston Red Sox	7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 2

Road Team	Home Team	Time (ET)
Atlanta Braves	Houston Astros	1:05 p.m.
Baltimore Orioles	Tampa Bay Rays	1:05 p.m.
Boston Red Sox	Minnesota Twins	1:05 p.m.
Detroit Tigers (ss)	New York Yankees	1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh Pirates	Detroit Tigers (ss)	1:05 p.m.
Philadelphia Phillies	Toronto Blue Jays	1:05 p.m.
Washington Nationals	St. Louis Cardinals	1:05 p.m.
Miami Marlins	New York Mets	1:10 p.m.
Los Angeles Angels	Milwaukee Brewers	3:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs	San Francisco Giants (ss)	3:05 p.m.
San Francisco Giants (ss)	Kansas City Royals	3:05 p.m.
Cincinnati Reds	Chicago White Sox	3:05 p.m.
Colorado Rockies	Oakland Athletics	3:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers	Seattle Mariners	3:05 p.m.
San Diego Padres	Cleveland Indians	3:05 p.m.
Texas Rangers	Arizona Diamondbacks	3:10 p.m.

Top Games

Thursday: Los Angeles Angels vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

There's no doubting the power of the Angels' lineup. With Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo and the newly acquired Josh Hamilton, opposing pitchers are in for a nightmare experience. At certain points in the season they will be unstoppable.

The Angels still have some question marks in the rotation, though. They weren't able to bring back Zack Greinke, who ended up joining the Dodgers, leaving a void behind Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. Tommy Hanson could fill it if he rediscovered his form, but that's far from a lock.

Los Angeles' National League team has shown it isn't afraid to spend big money in order to build a winning roster. They need good seasons from Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford if they want to win the West. The potential for a terrific season is definitely there.

Friday: Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves

These two teams spent all of last season fighting for the NL East crown, a battle eventually won by the Nationals. The story will likely remain the same in 2013, although the Philadelphia Phillies could make it a three-team race.

The biggest key for Washington will be the continued development of phenoms Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. If they can continue to develop into elite players, the Nationals will be in awesome shape. If they struggle, the path to the division title is much tougher to navigate.

In Atlanta, they are hoping the addition of the Upton brothers, along with bounce-back seasons from Brian McCann and Dan Uggla, will offset the losses of Chipper Jones and Michael Bourn. The Braves' underrated pitching staff is a reason for optimism as they look to get back atop the NL East.

Saturday: Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees

One storyline that's being overlooked in the early part of spring training is the return of Victor Martinez. If he can return to top form after missing last season with a knee injury, the Tigers will have an extremely dangerous power trio by pairing him with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.

The Yankees are a tough team to predict. Based on talent alone, they should remain one of top clubs in the American League. But, they are relying on a lot of veteran players on the wrong side of 30. That could come back to haunt them.

Ultimately, it's completely within reason to think these teams could meet in the ALCS, but both sides have a lot of questions to answer between now and then. That's what spring training is for, starting to find those answers.