YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
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Joe Christensen, the Star Tribune's national baseball reporter, has covered the big leagues since 1998. A Faribault native, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1996. Before working for the Star Tribune, he spent three years covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun. He also covered the Padres and Dodgers for newspapers in Southern California. He'll share his thoughts here on the Twins and all things baseball.
Liriano feels 'way better,' eyes strong finish
Posted by: Joe Christensen under Twins game coverage Updated: September 2, 2010 - 10:24 AM
Danny Valencia got the pie-in-the-face treatment after his game-winning hit Wednesday night, but his teammates were kind enough to use whip cream, instead of shaving cream, so it wouldn't burn the rookie's eyes.
Valencia has been quite a story. He is 5-for-8 in this series and has batted .332 in 61 games. The poise he showed in that 10th-inning at-bat was impressive, working the count full and lining a low, 95-mph fastball from Ryan Perry into center field.
But the most encouraging thing about the 2-1 victory for the Twins came earlier, when Francisco Liriano tossed seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. With Max Scherzer giving the Tigers a command performance, the Twins needed a big start from Liriano and he delivered.
The dead arm the Twins talked about early last month has sprung to life.
"I feel way better," said Liriano, who is 6-0 with a 2.17 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break.
The Twins have been giving Liriano extra rest between starts to help him feel stronger. They can continue spacing out his starts, especially when Kevin Slowey returns from the DL. But the key was getting Liriano past his dead-arm phase. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Liriano's splits are pretty similar no matter how much rest he gets between starts:
4 day’s (regular) rest: 4-2, 3.67 ERA in 9 starts with 10.9 K/9 and a 1.35 WHIP
5 day’s rest (including Wednesday): 6-4, 2.95 ERA in 13 starts with 9.4 K/9 and a 1.19 WHIP
6+ day’s rest (including last week in TX): 2-1, 3.38 ERA in 4 starts with 8.1 K/9 and a 1.20 WHIP
- Michael Cuddyer was successful on 22-of-24 stolen base attempts over the previous four seasons. This year, he is 6-for-9. After singling to lead off the 10th inning, he swiped second base then scored on Danny Valencia's game-winning single. Cuddyer said he wasn't running on his own. There was a full count with no outs and Delmon Young at the plate. In that situation, the Twins are told to move unless they get the sign not to go, Cuddyer said. By putting the runner in motion, teams have a better chance of avoiding double plays and scoring on a double. "You take a chance on fact [Young] doesn’t strikeout," Cuddyer said. "Unfortunately he did, and fortunately the throw [from catcher Alex Avila] was high."
- The White Sox are off today before opening a three-game series in Boston on Friday. Chicago plays a four-game set in Detroit starting Monday and likely will face Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the first two games.
- If you're heading to the State Fair today, stop by the Star Tribune booth and say hi. I'll be there from noon to 1 p.m.
- It's Justin Verlander vs. Scott Baker in tonight's series finale. La Velle has our game coverage.
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