twin080408

On the homepage

Scanners

Full-body scanners headed for MSP

Out There

Gas lines

10 years later, same fire, anger

Club Outdoors

Behind closed doors

Home | Sports | Twins

Liriano returns Twins to first

You need to upgrade your Flash Player to properly use this content.

Start Update | Cancel

If you think you may have reached this message in error, you can bypass the detection.

Fans eager to watch the recently promoted lefty saw glimpses of his 2006 form.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: August 4, 2008 - 11:34 AM

Print this story

TWINS 6, CLEVELAND 2

Up next: 9:10 p.m. today at Seattle • Safeco Field • TV: FSN (1500-AM)

More from Twins

It wasn't Francisco Liriano, vintage 2006.

The fastballs and sliders didn't have the same zip. The hitters didn't look as overwhelmed.

But the Twins were still delighted Sunday, when Liriano gave up only three hits over six shutout innings in a 6-2 victory over Cleveland.

That victory, coupled with Chicago's 14-3 loss at Kansas City, moved the Twins back into first place for the first time since May 13.

An announced crowd of 39,818 at the Metrodome watched Liriano get his first major league victory since July 23, 2006.

After going 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA in April and spending the next three months at Class AAA Rochester, Liriano (1-3) proved he can still be effective, if not quite as dominant as before his November 2006 elbow surgery.

"The look on his face is just totally different than how he was in April," second baseman Nick Punto said. "It's nice to see him with some confidence."

Liriano, 24, built it back by going 10-2 at Rochester, including 5-0 with a 1.21 ERA in July.

He said he felt as jittery for this start as he did for his major league debut in 2005.

"After the first inning I was better," he said. "I was really nervous. I don't know why."

In 2006, the Twins felt Liriano relied too heavily on his slider. This time, he threw 59 fastballs, 22 sliders and 15 changeups.

His fastballs ranged from 87-93 miles per hour. His sliders were mostly 84-85, and as manager Ron Gardenhire noted, that hard-breaking pitch used to hit 90-91.

"This first year [after surgery] is kind of hit and miss," Gardenhire said. "Maybe next year you're going to see everything step up even more. ... Right now, I think it's just velocity more than anything."

An error by shortstop Brendan Harris left Liriano with a stiff test in the third inning. With the game scoreless, Cleveland had the bases loaded with two outs. But Liriano struck out Cleveland's No. 3 hitter, Ben Francisco, with a 93-mph fastball.

Catcher Mike Redmond said it was outside but close enough where Francisco probably had to swing.

Liriano's four other strikeouts came on sliders. He threw 56 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

He walked three and struck out five, falling behind with a 3-0 count four times, and throwing first-pitch strikes to only eight of the 24 batters he faced.

Cleveland's lineup is much different without Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner, who are both injured, and Casey Blake, who was traded to the Dodgers.

Liriano's next start will come Saturday at Kansas City, and the Twins hope to see more progress.

"Triple-A baseball's different than here," Gardenhire said. "There's a few veteran hitters, but a lot of guys swing, swing, swing.

"As we go along, we're going to see some veteran teams that don't swing. They're going to take pitches, and those are going to be challenges for him to throw more pitches over the plate."

Punto said it's not fair to expect the 2006 Liriano, but the Twins will take the one they saw Sunday.

"Liriano at 80 percent," Punto said, "is better than a lot of pitchers in the big leagues."

Recent Twins stories

Mets' Johan Santana throws off mound for 1st time since elbow surgery - August 4, 2008

Mets' Johan Santana throws off mound for 1st time since elbow surgery - New York Mets ace Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since elbow surgery last Sept. 1 and said he felt good. More