Twins’ starter Francisco Liriano has become the first pitcher this season to throw a no-hitter after he blanked the division rival Chicago White Sox 1-0 Tuesday night from U.S. Cellular Field.
Liriano threw a total of 123 pitches while walking six and striking out two. He also benefited from three double plays turned behind him.
Maybe the most ironic thing about Lirano’s no-no was the fact that he went into last night’s game with a 9.13 ERA and was in serious danger of losing his rotation spot to Kevin Slowey once he returned to the majors. Liriano has managed to buy himself more time in the Twins’ starting rotation with the no-hitter however his job is anything but safe. Liriano still isn’t striking out opponents like he use to and hitters are laying off his bad pitches. He still has a high ERA and his walk rate is the worst among major league starting pitchers.
This is certainly a step in the right direction for Liriano but he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to remain a mainstay in that starting rotation.
Source: SportingNews
