A night after Glen Perkins came back to the mound and gave the Twins a Quality Start, the Pirates used the long ball to even the series at a game a piece in an 8-2 win.
Francisco Liriano got the start for the Twins and worked seven innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked just one and struck out six. He was just hurt by two, big two-run homers. The first was a 3rd inning blast by Pirates phenom Andrew McCutchen. It was McCutchen’s first major league home run, and for some reason, a fan threw the ball back on to the field. In the bottom of the third, the Twins tied the game at two when Joe Crede doubled to the wall in right centerfield.
But right away in the top of the fourth, Liriano surrended the lead by allowing a two run homer by Andy Laroche. The Twins had a few chances to cut into the lead but could not get a much-needed hit.
Sean Henn entered the game in the top of the 8th inning and gave up a solo homer to Adam Laroche, followed by two walks. Luis Ayala came in and allowed the inherited runners to score before getting out of the 8th inning. He gave up a run of his own as well but got the team through the ninth inning.
Michael Cuddyer had a good night at the plate. He went 2-2 with a triple and two walks. The rest of the lineup managed just four more hits. Joe Mauer did add his 11th double.
The Twins again fall a game below .500. The two teams will meet again on Thursday afternoon. The Twins will send Nick Blackburn to the mound to face Zach Duke.
Topics: Adam LaRoche, Andrew McCutchen, Andy LaRoche, Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, Joe Crede, Joe Mauer, Luis Ayala, Michael Cuddyer, Nick Blackburn, Sean Henn, Zach Duke
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[...] ten to twelve games. I’m just not worried about this one game. If you would like to, you can read my Game Recap at BaseballDigest.com. Before getting in to my one big story from the game, here again is the pitching matchup for this [...]