Last night, in Chicago, Francisco Liriano pitched the fifth no-hitter in Twins history.
In a season that has been disappointing to say the least, last night was a light from a crack of the tunnel. With all but a handful of the Twins roster batting in the .100’s, injuries and illnesses striking starters (Mauer, Nishioka, Morneau, Young) and AAA rosters being presented on a nightly bases due to these misfortunes, it is no surprise to me why we are currently cellar dwellers.
As the 9th inning approached I found myself on the edge of my seat and my heart pounding. It felt like a game 7 of the World Series. But why? The Twins hold the worst record in baseball and we only have a 1 run lead in the toilet bowl.
It wasn’t a perfect game, that’s for sure. Liriano threw 123 pitches, 66 of which were strikes. These numbers are a bit deceiving considering he is a breaking ball pitcher, but on the contrary he only recorded only 2 strike outs. Francisco walked 6 batters in the game, one of which was a 4 pitch walk to Juan Pierre in the bottom of the 9th. On the bright side it looked as though the Sisco kid is finally grasping the idea that pitching to contact isn’t necessarily a bad trait.
Liriano has struggled medially throughout this young season (ERA 6.61). Unable to locate his slider and pushing his fastball, he continually finds himself getting into deep holes in the count which ultimately leads to walks and crooked number innings. All of these variables have led to the demolition of his confidence and swagger as a pitcher. With the return of Kevin Slowey later this week, it was considered that he would replace Liriano in the rotation. Due to the no-hit performance yesterday I think it’s safe to say that Liriano has saved a spot in the rotation for at least one more week.
Hopefully this win can catapult the Twins in the winning direction.
Jordan T.
