Game 55: Twins at Rays

First Pitch: 6:10 pm CDT

TV: FSN

Radio: TIBN

It’s hard to think of a sneakier signing than Martin Perez. Almost universally “meh’d” at upon the news that he’d been joining Minnesota’s spring camp, the best hope most of us had was that Thad Levine had seen something in him during their mutual time with the Rangers, and perhaps he would be a just-below-average long reliever.

It’s the penultimate day of May now, and Martin Perez is dominating. A shiny 7-1 record is backed up by a 2.95 ERA, 3.72 FIP, and 8.7 K/9. At age 28, he’s having his best major-league season by a long shot.

As good as Perez has been so far, Tampa Bay righty Charlie Morton has been a tick better. A similarly late bloomer, Morton has had his best seasons since being exposed to the same Astros coaching staff that’s squeezing talent out of Ryan Pressly. A first-time All-Star last year, Morton has picked up with the Rays right where he left off in Houston. A 2.54 ERA, 3.04 FIP, and 11.5 K/9 are all better than Perez’s marks, although both starters share the same lightly-inflated 4.0 BB/9.

GO TWINS GO!