If Man Is Five Then the Devil is Six: 6/1 Game Thread, Boston at Jays

Two months into the season now, the Jays sit three games above .500 and two games back of both first place in the AL East and the wild card. The Jays, though, are also only a game above the last place Boston Red Sox, so a series loss this weekend puts our corvid friends in last place.

Henderson Alvarez pitches for the Jays. We've talked around and around about Alvarez's lack of strikeouts, his proclivity for ground balls, and the like, so we won't belabour those points, other than to say that Alvarez has struggled his last few times out. Clay Buccholz pitches for Boston and he has really struggled in all aspects of his game this year with few strike outs, far too many walks, and too many long balls amidst more hard contact and fewer ground balls. His tRA is over 7 and his xFIP is over 5.

It's been a heck of a long week fighting fraud, so I'm meeting up with a friend after work today for a much-needed drink before heading home for the game, so I'll likely miss the start of the game and lineups being posted but I should be back for a good portion of the game itself. You know the rules, no talking about or posting streams, no images until the game is over, and don't be terrible.

Today's title comes from "This Monkey Gone to Heaven," a great song by Boston's own Pixies. My cousin (who is male) plays the bass for a living, and my five-year old has been very curious about whether girls play the bass, too. So far the best ones I have come up with Kim Deal (the Pixies), Laura Ballance (Superchunk), Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads) and D'arcy (Smashing Pumpkins). That's not too bad, but let me know if you've got other good ones.

Johnny Edit: Lineups stolen from OTM!

Lineup