Francisco Liriano pitched last night and while he wasn’t dominant, he certainly showed improvement from his most recent outings. He went 5 innings (it still seems to be his maximum right now, because of pitch counts though, not coaching) and walked 4 but only allowed 2 hits and also struck out 4. He gave up an earned run and he threw 48 strikes out of 87 total pitches. I’d say he’s on a start-by-start basis. Until he gets his control, well, under control, he should stay in Rochester. I was about to say “really, there isn’t any place for him up here” until I realized that Scott Baker might need DL time and Kevin Slowey is making just his second start this year in a couple days and who knows how he’ll pitch. Glen Perkins has done well at AAA and so has Kevin Mulvey, and by “done well” I don’t mean I’m dyslexic and ordering a steak. They’ve played like they’re too good for AAA.

 

For the first time in 60 years, the Tigers scored 6 or more runs in the first inning and still lost the game, thanks to the Twins. It certainly seems like a bigger accomplishment now.

 

Nick Blackburn pitches tonight in Chicago vs. the White Sox. I really just hope our 5-0 homestand still has some confidence in the players and they can carry it over to these next divisional games. Michael Cuddyer has been hitting really well since coming back, and I predict he will have the best series out of anyone. Will I be right?