First Pitch 12:07 p.m. CDT

Kyle Gibson (5-8, 5.09 ERA, 75 K, 1.538 WHIP)
R.A. Dickey (9-13, 4.43 ERA, 111 K, 1.314 WHIP)

Now in his third full season as a starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, Kyle Gibson is thoroughly eroding any hopes I had that he would ever be more than a journeyman hurler in the back end of a rotation. Nobody doubts his stuff, except Gibson himself, it often seems. Mrs. Twayn shares my frustration with Gibson. She's coined a term for pitchers who consistently get ahead in the count only to end up walking the batter because they try to be too fine. They're Gibbynibblers, and that term is generally preceded by an Anglo-Saxon expletive.

The Twins are trying to keep their current losing streak, a match for their first one this year, from going to double digits. I thought Santana had a good shot yesterday, even against this Toronto murderers' row, but things fall apart. I do know one thing -- if the Twins don't acquire some better pitching before next year, we're going to see this season all over again next year. And I'm not so sure I'll be willing sign up for that.

Play ball!

First pitch 1:15 p.m. CDT

Ervin Santana (6-9, 3.43 ERA, 99 K, 1.212 WHIP)
Danny Duffy (10-1, 2.73 ERA, 143 K, 0.985 WHIP)

We could be in for a low-scoring pitchers' duel today as Santana and Danny Duffy square off on the circular mound. At the moment, Duffy is the only pitcher in the American League with a WHIP under 1.00 (and sporting an ERA+ of 162), while Santana checks in at 16th with a 1.21 WHIP. As long as he stays the course, Duffy has a legit shot at the AL Cy Young award this year. I'd like to see this game be a latter day hiccup in that eventuality, but on the advice of my physician and bookmaker I'm not holding my breath.

Play ball!

First Pitch 1:10 p.m.

Edinson Volquez (8-10, 5.03 ERA, 104 K, 1.479 WHIP)
Hector Santiago (10-6, 4.47 ERA, 115 K, 1.452 WHIP)

The Twins snapped a four-game losing streak yesterday with a nice win over the Royals. You have to go back to June 17 to find another losing streak that long. And all it took to win was seven solid innings from the starter and a few power swings at the plate. That's a formula that's worked out real well for the Twins this year, although not nearly often enough.

Play ball!

First Pitch 12:10 p.m. CDT

Kyle Gibson (3-6, 4.94 ERA, 59K, 1.451 WHIP)
Matt Andriese (6-2, 2.72 ERA, 57K, 1.026 WHIP)

Lest we forget, Joe Mauer is still very good at baseball. He's 16 for 25 on this road trip for a .640 batting average. See the ball, hit the ball. With a stick.

Joe Mauer 2016: .280/.382/.414/.795 118 OPS+
Mark Teixeira 2016: .199/.288/.341/.629 69 OPS+

Play ball!

First Pitch 1:10 pm

Ervin Santana (3-9, 3.78 ERA, 80 K, 1.242 WHIP)
Carlos Rodon (2-7, 4.50 ERA, 91 K, 1.533 WHIP)

The Twins today will try to win a home series against the White Sox that they should have won last night. For me, the highlight of this series has been seeing Justin Morneau play at Target Field. I don't know that I've ever seen a player from the visiting team cheered so loudly by the home crowd for smashing a home run as when he lined his dinger many moose antlers over the outfield wall yesterday. I've got a soft spot for that big Canuck, and it seems a lot of other Twins fans do, too. Several years ago when I decided to splurge on one of those nice Majestic jerseys, I got a Morneau 33. And I still chuckle, just a little bit, when I hear somebody say his name and in my head I hear, "Rhymes with porno."

Ervin Santana back on the hill for the Twins today after taking the loss in a 2-0 complete game in his last start. For the White Sox, Carlos Rodon comes off the disabled list today for his first start since July 5th. Don't know if I'll get to watch this one, I have a lot of stuff to get done today. That's what I get for procrastinating, I suppose.

Play ball!

First Pitch 1:10 pm

Kyle Gibson (2-5, 5.02 ERA, 42 K, 1.483 WHIP)
Josh "Little Cowboy" Tomlin (9-2, 3.51 ERA, 68 K, 1.120 WHIP)

For those of you who didn't make it to last night's rain-delayed, extra-inning finish, Max Kepler drove in Mauer from third with an infield grounder that was thrown home as the Indians tried to keep the game alive. I'm not sure where this team is going to finish. With 72 games remaining, they have the opportunity to at least save a little face and dig their way out of the AL Central cellar. They'd only have to pick up 13 games on Chicago to do that. Not a can of corn by any means, but also not out of the realm of possibility considering it's the White Sox we're talking about catching. I've seen some pretty odd things happen in the second half in my day -- seemingly impossible winning streaks and slack-jaw, head-shaking collapses. And that's just by the Twins. But no matter how we finish because of our abysmal start, this team has won me back. You can start to see the nucleus of a pretty good young squad here -- an outfield full of outfielders, an infield with potential and no shortage of pop up and down the lineup -- and that's what I'll be watching for. With the non-waiver deadline looming in a couple of weeks, the Twins are also active sellers in the trade market, so we may find out how much value Ervin Santana has to a contending club (Texas, perhaps?) wanting to bolster its starting rotation. Looks like we got our crappy weather out of the way last night and it's getting close to that time, so...

Play ball!

First Pitch 2:05 p.m. CDT

Tommy Milone (1-2, 5.45 ERA, 25 K, 1.569 WHIP)
AJ Griffin (3-0, 3.06 ERA, 45 K, 1.213 WHIP)

So here we are, heading into the All-Star break in sole possession of last place in the AL Central, and the worst record in the American League. Only the hapless Braves keep us from being the worst team in baseball, and even then by just a slim margin. We're 21 games out of the division lead and 17.5 games out of the wild card race. That's the bad news. The good news is that the Twins are finally showing signs of life, and management if finally showing some willingness to just let the young guys play and get the valuable major league experience they need. Buxton, Kepler, Sano, Vargas, Park - these are the stars of the future, and I'd be fine with watching them shine the rest of the season.

Play ball!

First Pitch 1:10 pm

Kyle Gibson (1-5, 5.12 ERA, 29 K, 1.489 WHIP)
Cole Hamels (9-1, 2.60 ERA, 102 K, 1.206 WHIP)

Today's tilt marks the midway point in a season that many Twins players and fans would just as soon forget about. As such there's not a lot to say about the rest of the season. It probably can't be any worse than the first half, and it just might get better. So here's a toss away random thoughts game log just like the professionals write when they don't have a decent idea for a column.

• Max Kepler had himself a banner day at the ballpark yesterday, knocking two home runs and driving in seven, a Twins RBI record for a rookie, in the 17-run crushing of Texas. Tony Oliva, Miguel Sano and Oswaldo Arcia each have a 6-RBI game as rookies.
• Miguel Sano is looking good since coming off the disabled list, blasting a two-run homer and driving in a total of three runs yesterday.
• Eduardo Nunuz got in on the offensive fun yesterday with a four-hit game that included a sacrifice fly.
• Eduardo Escobar is listed as day to day after injuring his left hamstring sliding into home plate yesterday.
• Down on the farm, Jose Berrios takes the mound for Rochester today as he tries to extend a streak of scoreless starts to three. The Red Wings play Syracuse at 6:05 pm (MiLB.TV)
• The Braves and Marlins will play each other today in front of 12,500 service personnel  at Fort Bragg, the largest US military base in the world. I appreciate MLB's support of our military and while I sometimes feel they've become a PR wing of the Pentagon, this is a very nice beau geste.
• After his first week in the major leagues with the Mets, my friends' son Brandon Nimmo is slashing .286/.310/.393/.703. I watched the Mets-Cubs game on TV last night; Nimmo went 1-3 with a walk and run scored.

It's way too nice outside not be at a ballgame today, so I snagged some Legends Club seats on StubHub and the wife and I are going to the game.

Play ball!

First Pitch - 12:05 p.m. CDT

Tyler Duffy (2-6, 6.18 ERA, 1.445 WHIP)
Nathan Eovaldi (6-4, 5.02 ERA, 1.351 WHIP)

Twenty games out of first place in the division before the All-Star break is pretty bad. There's no coming back with that albatross around your neck. But even in failure there's opportunity, if only the FO would see it. The past is written and the present is a cluster[redacted], so you have to look to the future and let the kids play. This year is not a waste if Molitor uses it to give the new nucleus of this team some valuable major league experience. With that in mind, Tyler Duffy will try to shut down the Yankees lineup while Nathan Eovaldi tries the same with ours. Neither pitcher has fared very well on the mound recently, so I expect something less than a pitcher's duel today.

Play ball!