John Shipley, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. –
TAMPA, Fla. – Francisco Liriano not only looks more confident than he was last season, he sounds like it, too.
“I’m very happy with everything, my fastball, my changeup, slider – everything’s working,” the left-hander said after throwing five shutout innings in the Minnesota Twins’ 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday, March 23.
Liriano allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five to lower his spring earned-run average to 2.00. He has allowed runs in only one of his five starts and has fanned 23 batters in 18 innings. On Friday, he struck out Alex Rodriguez on four pitches, starting him with a changeup and then throwing three straight sliders to get him swinging.
“He’s a heck of a hitter, so you know you don’t want to make a mistake, especially with men on base,” he explained. “I just wanted to make sure I threw good pitches and try not to give him anything good to hit.”
Liriano, 27, pitching on a one-year, $5.5 million contract, will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season. It’s a big year for him, and the team that acquired him with Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser in the trade that sent A.J. Pierzynski to San Francisco in 2004. He came into camp last season with a sore shoulder and never really recovered, finishing 9-10 with a 5.09 ERA.
“Like I’ve said before, pitching is all about location. I think I’ve been locating my pitches better, and my pitches are better than they were last year, too,” he said. “Everything came from
just locating my fastball. I’m just focused on that, and it’s working so far.”
Briefly
Outfielder Trevor Plouffe is still rehabbing a strained hamstring. … Danny Valencia went 2 for 4 with a double, and Jamey Carroll went 1 for 5 with a walk, in games against Class A players on Friday. … Jason Marquis, the scheduled starter for Saturday afternoon’s game against Tampa Bay at Hammond Stadium, will be unavailable while he attends to a family matter. The Twins have yet to settle on a starter.
