Maybe it’s karma for the Vikings beating the Steelers. No. It’s not. But it is pretty simple: Francisco Liriano is a total stud for the Pirates, and Justin Morneau is anchoring Pittsburgh’s lineup.
It’s not a joke. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle had Morneau batting fourth in the lineup for the Pirates’ 6-2 win over the Reds in the National League wild-card game.
Wild-card? We were confused by that, too. It’s a playoff game — in Major League Baseball. You know… one of those games the Twins haven’t played in since 2009.
Oh, who are we to poke fun at the Twins? The Pirates hadn’t been in a playoff game in 21 years — until they signed Liriano and traded for Morneau — both ex-Twins, who had a lot to do with the playoff push.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette can’t stop bragging about how dominating Liriano was Tuesday night. The Pirates’ pitching coach said Reds superstar Joey Votto had “no chance” against Liriano. Votto was the National League MVP in 2010, and he had “no chance.”
Morneau went 1-4 with a single and a walk in the game. As the Pioneer Press points out, Morneau snapped a couple of really long droughts. It was his first postseason hit since 2006 and the first postseason win he had been apart of since 2004.
It’s a painful reality that Twins fans have to suffer through. Liriano couldn’t shine as a Twin and nobody knows why, and Morneau, a local hero to many fans, is sipping on a cup of success in another city.
Maybe next year, Twins fans… (Read our Twins Wrap for more on that).
