Encouraging news about Liriano

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Left-hander is set to throw in a simulated game on Wednesday
By Anthony Gagliano / Special to MLB.com


ST. PETERSBURG -- Francisco Liriano's return to the Twins took a big step forward on Monday. The electric young left-hander threw 73 pitches off the mound in the bullpen, tossing an array of fastballs, changeups and sliders with ease. The next step comes on Wednesday, when he'll face live batters in a simulated game at Tropicana Field.
"I've not even gone out to watch," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He said he feels great, and he has a good smile on his face."

Liriano (12-3, 2.19 ERA) still had a small crowd as pitching coach Rick Anderson and four or five others watched the 22-year-old rookie toss. He began throwing long toss, which he did for the first time since Aug. 22. Liriano threw his first bullpen session since going on the disabled list on Aug. 10.

"Everybody says everything is going along exactly the way you want it to," Gardenhire said. "We're always guarded. We don't want any setbacks."

The team will make a decision on Liriano's future, provided everything goes well on Wednesday, once he returns home.

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Notes: Liriano to make rehab start
Rookie ace is scheduled to pitch in Minors on Saturday


ST. PETERSBURG -- The countdown to Francisco Liriano's return is on.
The rookie left-hander threw approximately 50 pitches during a simulated game on Wednesday. As long as he doesn't experience any problems -- and Liriano said he's had no pain or soreness so far -- the All-Star will be pitching in a rehab start on Saturday, most likely a playoff game for Triple-A Rochester.

"I was commanding my fastball and my slider," Liriano said. "It's still there."

That was sweet music for manager Ron Gardenhire. With a successful 40-45 pitches on Saturday, Liriano could rejoin the Major League club to take his next turn.

"That would be a big shot in the arm for our baseball team, to have another good-looking, young arm out there along with the other guys," Gardenhire said.

To be fair, Liriano isn't just some other arm. Before he went on the disabled list on Aug. 8, Liriano had a 2.19 ERA, which would be best in the Majors if he qualified. The 22-year-old owns a 12-3 record this season with 142 strikeouts in 119 innings.

He began experiencing pain in his pitching elbow on July 28, then skipped one start before making his last appearance on Aug. 7. Since then, Liriano said he's focused on doing more legs and upper body work to get stronger for when he returns, which, he said, was never in doubt.

"I knew I was making it back this year," Liriano said. "I did not think it was a big deal when I got hurt."

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Notes: Twins ad-libbing with Liriano

By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- It's not often that an organization has a rooting interest for one of its Minor League clubs to lose a game in a playoff series, but the Twins did on Friday night.
While the Twins wouldn't exactly root for Triple-A Rochester to lose its postseason contest, the Red Wings' 6-3 loss to Scranton sure made things a lot easier when it came to the pitching schedule of Francisco Liriano.

The left-hander arrived in Scranton, Pa., on Friday morning to join Rochester, but taking the trip was a bit of a risk at the time, as there was still a question of whether he would even have a start after the Red Wings won Game 2 of their series with Scranton, 11-5, on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

There was another possible option, had the start at Rochester fallen through. Plan B then reverted to a possible start for Class A Beloit in a game on Saturday, but that also depended on whether the Snappers won that game -- which they did.

Exactly how the club would have handled the situation if neither start had materialized will remain a mystery. Twins general manager Terry Ryan didn't want to speculate before the games about what the club would do in that case, saying only that he would have some difficult decisions to make.

One interesting scenario that emerged on Friday was the possibility of Liriano pitching out of the bullpen for the Twins on Saturday night.

Liriano told reporters covering the playoffs in Scranton that he was informed by Ryan that he would be pitching out of the bullpen for the Twins if neither of the rehab assignments came to fruition. It seemed like a last resort for the club.

But all of that isn't a concern now for the club, as Liriano will start Game 4 of Rochester's series with Scranton. The plan is for Liriano to throw up to 50 pitches, and this will give him a chance to face hitters in a big-game situation.

"What you'd like to see is how he'd handle himself in that situation," Gardenhire said of Liriano starting an actual game.

Now the club will get that chance.