Francisco Liriano had another brilliant start go to waste Wednesday night as the Twins lost to the Orioles, 2-1 at Target Field. Liriano struck out 10 over six innings, but he gave up a 2-run homer to Adam Jones in the first inning — and it turned out to be all Baltimore needed. Minnesota’s only run came on Josh Willingham’s 23rd home run of the season.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Twins threatened to tie the game or take the lead, but Justin Morneau grounded out with the bases loaded to end the frame.
Trevor Plouffe singled to extend his hit streak to 16 games.
Is Francisco Liriano the most untouchable starter in baseball right now? According the numbers he is. 1500 ESPN points out that among starters who have thrown at least 80 innings, Liriano has the lowest contract rate in baseball — even ahead of Stephen Strasburg.
Matt Capps was placed on the 15 day disabled list Tuesday, and the news got worse Wednesday. An MRI on his sore shoulder showed more irritation in his rotator cuff, which will keep him out longer than 15 days. The news also probably means Capps won’t be traded before the July 31st deadline.
