OAKLAND, CALIF. -- Francisco Liriano won his first start on this road trip, when the Twins defeated Seattle 5-4 on Monday night. It was his 29th career victory. Hard to believe, considering all the hype and all the coverage, he's still looking for career win No. 30.
The Twins will try to help get it for him tonight, when they face righthander Trevor Cahill, another talented young pitcher from the A's stable. Cahill allowed just one run in each of his past three starts, going 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA and holding opponents to a .200 batting average.
Will check to see how Orlando Hudson, J.J. Hardy, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are feeling and post the lineups ASAP.
Morneu is 3-for-5 with a home run off Cahill, so the guess here is he'll be playing.
Update: Morneau will miss tonight's game with the stomach flu. That certainly simplifies the decision. This will give Morneau a chance to give his whole body a break, though Manager Ron Gardenhire said it's possible Morneau will feel well enough to pinch hit late in the game.
Also, the Twins have optioned Pat Neshek from the disabled list and optioned him to Class AAA Rochester.
Update: Shortstop J.J. Hardy was scratched from the lineup during batting practice because of a sore left wrist. Nick Punto moves from second base to shortstop, and Matt Tolbert will bat second, playing second base.
TWINS (32-23)
