Shorter Hot Links this morning. Happy Fathers' Day.
*David Paulino balled out, throwing 6IP, 3H/1ER in just 81 pitches, and getting his first Major-League win in the process.
*The Astros got three runs in the 1st and three runs in the 3rd off Rick Porcello, with homers by Altuve and Beltran in the 3rd.
*Pitchers are throwing Jose Altuve fewer fastballs.
*Joe Musgrove is shooting for 100 pitches in tonight's Sunday Night Baseball tilt against the Red Sox.
*Lance McCullers may rejoin the rotation this week, and Charlie Morton could be headed for a rehab assignment, as well. God bless us, everyone.
*Nick Cafardo is reporting that the Astros and A's have "mutual interest" in a trade involving Sonny Gray. Both teams are familiar with each other, both with Double-A affiliates in the Texas League, having completed a trade for Scott Kazmir two years ago, and traded Jed Lowrie to each other approximately 46 times.
*The Yankees could make a play for Jose Quintana.
*The County Mountie wrote up some of the pitchers connected to the Astros
*ESPN's Scott Lauber: Is any team having more fun than the Astros? (In which we find out that Brian McCann is "the funny one.")
*Kyle Tucker could be on the fast track to Houston.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
