The Hold Steady continues to be the only real way to introduce game threads for games against the Twins. Although I'm digging their most recent record Heaven is Whenever, I went back to Boys and Girls in America for today's title.
The series is at stake and it's always a disappointment to drop a home series, so a win tonight would be good. Jays pitcher Brett Cecil surely feels the same way. Cecil has pitched quite well this season but has hit the skids a bit recently - his last start against the Yankees was effectively wild - he managed to get through 6 1-run innings despite walking 6. The double play and 5 strikeouts helped, but he can hardly expect that to work out every time. Prior to that start, he had 3 consecutive rocky ones. So tonight is a good chance for him to get back on track a bit.
Scott Baker pitches for Minny and he's had his usual pinpoint control but been more hittable than usual. Likely just a bit of bad luck as his peripheral numbers are all solid and in line with career norms (actually better in many ways).
Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells are both in tonight's lineup, and Jose Molina gets the start behind the dish. If you can tear yourself away from Lebron-related drama, join us in the thread!