The Pittsburgh Pirates had a pretty good idea of what they were getting when they signed Francisco Liriano in February — a pitcher with health issues and wild inconsistencies on the mound.
But so far, Liriano has been incredibly good. The ex-Twins left-hander is 6-3 with 2.30 ERA, and he’s struck out 61 hitters in 54.2 innings. He’s striking out more than 10 batters a game — the most since averaging nearly 11 strikeouts a game when he burst onto the scene with the Twins in 2006.
Liriano’s resurgeance can be credited, in part, to a minor mechanical adjustment to his delivery.
“All we did was get him to stay over the rubber, and make his turn over the rubber, show his back pocket to the hitter,” Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage told Sports on Earth. “Because when he does this, it just ultimately gets him back over the rubber, and gets him into his turn. So this way, it gives him enough time to get his arm up.”
With his arm up, the Pirates are climbing up the MLB power rankings. At 46-30, Pittsburgh owns the second best record in baseball — and Liriano is a big reason why.
