Hungry Joe is unavailable so I'm pinch hitting today. I can't say I've been happy with the quality of ball and strike calling over the past couple of weeks, but you really can't blame the Twins' chronic ass-bats on the umps. At the games on Friday and Saturday, I counted 7 Blue Jays in the lineup hitting above .250. The Twins had just two. They had two hitters above .300, we had none. And it's not just low overall averages,  it's the complete dearth of clutch hits. Rather than cheer when we load the bases with no outs, I cringe at the prospect of underperforming run expectancy yet again. Combine the ass-bats with some sloppy defense and it gets hard to win games, even when the rotation is killing it and the bullpen is showing surprising signs of adequacy.

Speaking of that rotation, Twins ace Sonny Gray takes the mound today for the home team. He's got a 1.82 ERA (236 ERA+), a 2.02 FIP, and a 1.196 WHIP. He's given up zero home runs while notching 66 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched. No pitcher on the team has done more to help win games this year than Sonny. The Astros counter with J.P. France. He's got a 3.43 ERA in four starts with a 1.19 WHIP. Hope everyone is having a pleasant Memorial Day.

Play ball!