Autumn Dreamin

Sox vs. Guards series with one team running into outs on the basepaths and making multiple errors while the other strings together some timely hits and solid pitching/defense for the series win. Based on how these went last year, you'd never guess which was which.

Click was let go after they won the WS. They hired Dana Brown from the Braves in January. The leading theory among Astros fans seems to be that both the Click firing and potentially questionable signings of Montero and Abreu in the interim GM-less period are a result of overzealous meddling from ownership.

At 3 years/$34.5 million, Astro fans can't decide if him or Abreu was their worst offseason signing.

That's a wild stat.

In light of the elite nastiness of Joe Kelly's pitching recently, I've been really thinking about his spring comments on Schultz having "better stuff."

Ober is getting shelled, Twins down 4 already in the first. Would be nice if we could find a way to scratch something across...

With the Lambert/Scholtens tandem turning in 6IP/1ER, do we consider that a continuation of the rotation's quality start streak?

Dart to the 60-day would get you a free 40 spot, but Scholtens is already rostered and rested after being preemptively scratched from his Charlotte start this week. Not sure if they try an opener for mini Gio, but I assume he gets the bulk of the work if not the start. He pitched well his last time out: Lambert also hasn't pitched in like 10 days so he should be good for a couple if needed. Not the worst timing, with the Guardians also relying on spot starter Gaddis for the series opener. His last AAA start was a little more recent and moderately less impressive than Scholtens: 5IP, 1ER, 5H, 2BB, 6K. When Gaddis made a spot start last September against the Sox, he was tagged for 7 ER over 4IP and taken deep by Vaughn, Sheets, Yaz on one leg, Yo with no core strength, and of course the starting SS...Elvis Andrus. This makes him responsible for over 3% of the teams HR total last year, which is an unpleasant statistic for both parties honestly. Pitching needs to limit damage from Ramirez/Naylor returning to the Cleveland lineup, and the offense needs to take advantage of Gaddis' propensity to give up the long ball again (2.79 HR/9 in AAA this year). They haven't seen him before, but it would be a nice time for LRJ/Burger to stay hot and TA/Benny to hit their first.

Six consecutive quality starts from the rotation.

11 pitch walk from LRJ? Oh my.

I guess Romy just trains in the hyperbaric time chamber when he's on the "IL." He came back from his spring IL stint on a heater too.

Let's go, Romy!

Yeah, they are down a starter with Keller going to the IL since we saw him in the last series.

After bottoming out in April, the pen had been top 10 in May coming into today. Of course, playing an AL Central gauntlet instead of 10 straight against the Rays/Jays doesn't hurt.

Clase blows the save in NY, giving up 3 runs bottom 10 as Mets walk it off. It's his 5th blown save this year, more than all of last season IIRC.

In other goings on...