The Twins' worst nightmare came true on Wednesday afternoon when lefty Francisco Liriano (12-3. 2.19 ERA), fresh off the DL, left his start early in the third inning with elbow pain in his left [throwing] arm.Only one batter into the third and 28 pitches later, he exited after throwing what appeared to be a slider in the dirt to Bobby Kielty on the first pitch, wincing with pain and dropping his shoulder after the motion. Catcher Mark Redmond could tell immediately that there was something wrong, coming to the mound with Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson.
This start was the first for Liriano since Aug. 7, when he left a start in Detroit after just four innings due to pain in his left elbow. Liriano cruised through the rehab program to strengthen his shoulder, after doctors determined the pain was being caused by a mild strain of his ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow.
Liriano made one start for AAA Rochester in their playoff run last Saturday where he threw three scoreless innings, didn't allow a hit and struck out four. He was scheduled to throw around 60 pitches in this outing, with the hopes that it would go smoothly so he'd be able to help the Twins in their playoff chase. But he was put on the shelf for the season, after hearing what he decribed as a 'pop' in his elbow.
This years' ML Rookie of the Year Pitcher, Matt Garza (L 1-5, 5.50 ERA), came in to replace Liriano, who of course, won the award last year. He pitched 5.2 good innings of relief in what was originally supposed to be his Wednesday start. He allowed only 1 run on 8 hits and struck out four batters in the Twins 1-0 loss to the Oakland A's. With the White Sox blanking the Angels, Chicago snuck back within a game and a half of the Wild Card. The Tigers were rocked by the Rangers in their 11-3 loss on Wednesday, and lead the Twins by a game and a half.
Francisco Liriano's injury.
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Minnesota will look to turn a new leaf, with a new series against the Central Spoiler Cleveland Thursday night putting Boof Bonser (5-5. 4.50 ERA) on the hill against Cliff Lee (12-10, 4.53 ERA) and the Indians at the Jake.
2 comments:
You know, as sad as this is. I'm past it. I know that sounds kind of mean, but what I mean is that we've done this without him for the past few weeks and even when he was in the minors at times. I just want Liriano to go back. Get fully, and by that I mean fully, healthy so that he can prevent this from happening again in his whole career. Boof has stepped up, even Silva has, and Garza did tonight. This thing isn't over, we can't get too down. Time to show the world we are fighters. And we are here to stay. And that this is a team that wants the best for Liriano.
Totally. He needs a much longer rehab, but hopefully not surgery (adding 18-24 months onto his time off). The Twins have the best team ERA in the Majors since August 8th, which is the last time Liriano was out due to pain. So, it's obvious they are capable without him, even though it sucks. I really don't think the club will miss his 4 possible starts he would've had in the regular season, though. It's the post season with that one-two Santana/Liriano punch that will be missed. I think the Twins can get through this. They're goin all the way.
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