First Pitch: 1:10 pm CDT

TV: Bally Sports North / ~ / Radio: TIBN

Hey, uh, what’s going on?

The American League Central is pretty handily the worst division in baseball; its leader, still somehow the Twins, boasts a 26-25 record and has been evading the .500 mark by only the grace of God. Meanwhile, their worst team is the 15-37 Kansas City Royals, with baseball’s second-most losses overall (trailing only the Oakland A’s, who have won ten times all year.)

Minnesota has been on a solid streak of losing two out of three, which has miraculously been enough to keep ahead of the second-place Detroit Tigers, a description of Motor City baseball that should do enough on its own to inform you on the state of things division-wide.

The Twins’ last series win was the home set against the Cubs; their immediately-preceding win against the Padres locked in their only other series win of the month. Since then, they’ve dropped ²⁄₃ to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco Giants. Now, the Toronto series starts on the wrong foot.

(Speaking of the wrong foot, Carlos Correa gets the afternoon off today after a surprising appearance in last night’s lineup. Instead, it’s Kyle Farmer at short, and a whole lotta lefties.)

The Twins have work to do against 34-year-old veteran Chris Bassitt, on the mound today for the Blue Jays. Bassitt’s Statcast peripherals don’t look great, but he’s managed to keep a low ERA and WHIP with his five-pitch, fastball-majority mix, even with that pitch sitting in the low 90’s.

We all know Pablo Lopez’s deal; the newly-acquired righty has been generating a lot of swing-and-miss stuff, with an 11.3 K/9 and 3.62 FIP through his first 60 innings as a member of the organization. The Twins haven’t won a Pablo start since a 4-3 victory over San Diego on May 10th; it would be nice to get the young arm back into the win column.

Most importantly, it’s a phenomenal afternoon for baseball, with low humidity, temps in the mid-70’s, and a saucy little breeze. Crack those windows (or those cold ones) and enjoy the game!

GO TWINS GO!