Nothing brings relief like having your opening-day starting pitcher finally win his first game -- in May.
"It was good to see Frankie with a smile on his face for a change," manager Ron Gardenhire said after Francisco Liriano improved to 1-4 with a 7-2 victory over the Tigers. Liriano and Scott Baker, expected to lead the pitching staff as the top left-hander and right-hander in the rotation, entered the game a combined 0-8 on the season, making the Twins' 13-13 record rather remarkable. Liriano was able to locate all three of his pitches most of the night, with his slider turning into an effective out pitch.
"(Monday night) was a great night. I was able to throw all my pitches wherever I wanted," said Liriano, who is now 1-7 in April but 19-6 in the other five months. "It's a big relief."
Not just to Liriano, either. "We need him, so it was good to see him get it going. He's been close, but he really got after them tonight," Gardenhire said.
TWINS 7, TIGERS 2: Francisco Liriano limited Detroit to four hits and two runs over 7 1/3 innings and struck out nine, earning his first victory of the season. Michael Cuddyer drpve in three runs with a single and a triple, and Denard Span singled four times in five at-bats. Matt Guerrier got the final five outs as the Twins snapped their two-game losing streak.
