Liriano now slated to face Twins on Saturday; Herrmann promoted; Twins hope to be spoilers vs. White Sox; tonight's matchup makes it tough

The White Sox have adjusted their pitching plans again and now plan to have Francisco Liriano pitch Saturday's game against the Twins. This will be his second start against his former team, as he held the Twins to two runs over six innings on July 31, three days after being traded.

So it'll be Chris Sale tonight, Liriano on Saturday and Jake Peavy on Sunday for the White Sox.

Herrmann promoted

The Twins promoted catcher Chris Herrmann to give them insurance with Joe Mauer (back) and Ryan Doumit (oblique) both banged up. Herrmann batted .276 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI this year for Class AA New Britain.

Mauer did some stuff in the batting cage today, so there is growing optimism that he'll be back soon, but the Twins needed Herrmann with Drew Butera as their only fully healthy catcher.

Tonight's game

The Twins have a chance to play spoiler in nine of their remaining 18 games, starting with this three-game set against the White Sox.

If you're a Tigers fan, you're not liking the first pitching matchup of this series one bit -- Sale vs. Esmerling Vasquez. This is a high-stakes game for the White Sox, and the Twins will be starting another pitcher who pitches entirely out of the stretch.

But there's a reason the Twins are giving Vasquez a chance to start this month. If he can find the form that helped him go 9-6 with a 2.78 ERA at Class AAA Rochester, he could make things tough on the White Sox.

WHITE SOX (76-66)

1. Alejandro De Aza, LF
2. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
3. Dewayne Wise, CF
4. Paul Konerko, 1B
5. Alex Rios, RF
6. A.J. Pierzynski, C
7. Dayan Viciedo, DH
8. Alexei Ramirez, SS
9. Gordon Beckham, 2B

Starting pitcher: LH Chris Sale (16-6, 2.88 ERA)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Jamey Carroll, 2B
3. Josh Willingham, DH
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
6. Darin Mastroianni, LF
7. Matt Carson, RF
8. Drew Butera, C
9. Pedro Florimon, SS

Starting pitcher: RH Esmerling Vasquez (0-1, 9.35 ERA)

Target Field. First pitch: 7:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Twins Radio Network