Liriano's pitching tonight in the Dominican Republic

The Twins have given Francisco Liriano permission to pitch winter ball, but not more than 20 innings.

January 4, 2012 at 8:53PM

Francisco Liriano is taking part in winter ball, after all.

The Twins lefthander is scheduled to throw two innings tonight for Escogido in a game at Licey, in the Dominican winter league. Here's a link to the scoreboard page.

Liriano also pitched for Escogido in 2010 but he did not pitch winter ball last year.

Liriano, 28, went 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA in 2010 but developed stiffness in his left shoulder right before spring training last year and went 9-10 with a 5.09 ERA for the Twins. All season, Liriano regretted not being able to pitch winter ball, insisting that was the best way to get himself ready for the major league season.

Last month, Twins GM Terry Ryan said he didn't expect Liriano to pitch winter ball because the Twins wanted to restrict his innings load. Under the new agreement, Liriano will not pitch more than 20 innings for the rest of the Dominican season.

"He'll probably go three [innings] the next outing," Ryan said. "He knows that we don't want him to go more than 20, and their season's coming to an end here. We're trying to get him ready for spring training."

about the writer

about the writer

Joe Christensen

Sports team leader

Joe Christensen, a Minnesota Star Tribune sports team leader, graduated from the University of Minnesota and spent 15 years covering Major League Baseball, including stops at the Riverside Press-Enterprise and Baltimore Sun. He joined the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2005 and spent four years covering Gophers football.

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