Francisco Liriano

The Twins will skip lefthander Francisco Liriano's spot in the rotation this weekend. He's 0-3 with a 11.02 ERA in 4 starts for the Twins this season. Manager Ron Gardenhire said he talked with Liriano and Liriano feels confident about the plan. Gardenhire does not want to put Liriano in the bullpen and will give him another chance to start. Liriano's next start will be Tuesday May 1 in Anaheim against the Angels.

The Twins lost 6-2 at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay wins 2 of 3 against the Twins over the weekend. Francisco Liriano allowed 3 hits, 4 walks and 5 earned runs in 5 innings to take the loss and drop to 0-3. Ryan Doumit had a pinch-hit 2-run single and Jamey Carroll was 2-4. Desmond Jennnings hit a 2-run homerun and drove in 3 runs on the day.

The Twins lost 8-3 at New York to the Yankees Tuesday night. C.C. Sabathia threw 7 1/3 innings with 3 earned runs allowed to get the win. Francisco Liriano ran into trouble in the 3rd inning and threw just 2 1/3 innings with 7 hits, 5 earned runs, and 4 walks allowed to take the loss. He drops to 0-2 and his ERA swells to 11.91. Denard Span and Manager Ron Gardenhire were both ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the 3rd inning. Clete Thomas replaced Span and was 1-3 with a run scored and 1 RBI and Josh Willingham hit a solo homerun against Sabathia.

The Twins had trouble hitting, fielding and pitching Saturday night in their 8-2 loss at Baltimore. The Orioles scored 1 run in the 2nd inning, 2 in the 3rd and 3 in the 4th and never trailed. Tommy Hunter threw 7 innings with 6 hits and 2 unearned runs allowed. Minnesota scored both of their runs in the 8th inning. Justin Morneau went 2-4 and both Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer had RBI groundouts. Francisco Liriano threw just 4 innings with 8 hits and 5 earned runs allowed to take the loss.

The Twins tied Tampa Bay 6-6 in an exhibition game Monday afternoon in Florida. Danny Valencia went 3-4 with a homerun and 2 RBIs and Luke Hughes hit a solo homerun for Minnesota. Francisco Liriano threw 5 innings with 7 hits and 1 earned run allowed with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk for the Twins.

The Twins downed Pittsburgh 10-0 Sunday afternoon in exhibition play in Florida. Francisco Liriano threw 5 no-hit shutout innings with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk to get the win. Jamey Carroll went 2-3 with 2 RBIs and a run scored and both Joe Benson and Trevor Plouffe each had 2 hits, a run and 1 RBI for the Twins. Prospect Brian Dozier hit a solo homerun for Minnesota.

The Twins lost 8-2 in exhibition play to Toronto Tuesday afternoon in Fort Myers, Florida. Francisco Liriano threw 3 innings with 4 earned runs allowed to take the loss. Alex Burnett was roughed up too. He allowed 4 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. Joe Mauer was 2-3 with a run scored and Trevor Plouffe was 1-3 with 1 RBI.

Perkins was 4-4 with a 2.48 ERA in 61 2/3 innings for the Twins in 2011. Perkins also had 2 saves. Perkins is expected to work late inning for the Twins again in 2012. Matt Capps is expected to be the closer but Perkins could be the setup man.

The Baltimore Orioles beat the Twins 6-1 Thursday afternoon to complete a 4-game sweep of the Twins this week. Jo Jo Reyes threw 6 innings with 1 earned run allowed to get the win. Francisco Liriano left the game early after 2 innings with a strained shoulder. Liriano was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game.

The Twins trailed Cleveland 1-0 after 2 innings when rain forced a delay and then a postponement. No makeup date has been scheduled yet but the Twins do return to Cleveland September 23-25. The Twins begin a 3-game series at Detroit tonight at 6:05, pregame on WJON at 5:35. Lefthander Francisco Liriano (7-9) gets the start on the mound for the Twins and righthander Rick Porcello (11-7) toes the rubber for the Tigers.