Twins Lose Liriano
By Editorial Staff
Apparently when it rains in Minnesota, it rains a lot.
It feels like every other day I’m writing about another Twins starter who’s hitting the DL. The news continues to be of the bad variety for Minny, as the club has placed Francisco Liriano on the 15 day disabled list with inflammation in his shoulder.
Liriano was scratched Saturday due to the injury. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is hoping the lefty only misses one more start.
Statistically, Liriano has been the Twins worst starting pitcher this season. His 5.73 ERA and 1.46 WHIP rank last on Minnesota’s staff. Liriano’s lack of command has been his real downfall, he’s allowed the forth most free passes in the majors with 32 in only 48.2 innings of work.
Liriano has also been lacking in the punch out department, currently sitting with a K/9 ratio of 6.3. That’s almost 3 strike outs per 9 innings off of his career average of 9.1.
All that being said, Liriano has been able to turn things around in May. He’s been able to lower his ERA from 9.13 to 5.73. Though walks are still an issue, Liriano has turned in 3 quality performances in 4 May starts, including his no-no May 3 against the White Sox.
To replace Liriano’s spot on the roster, Minnesota has called up right hander Anthony Slama.
You may have heard something recently about the guy who will be filling in for Liriano in the Twins rotation.
Anthony Swarzak took a no hitter into the 8th during Saturday’s start against the LA Angels. Swarzak was pitching for the scratched Liriano and will continue to do so in his absence.
Liriano becomes the 11th Twins player to land on the disabled list this season.