Twins' Francisco Liriano throws first no-hitter of season
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CHICAGO ? Minnesota's Francisco Liriano, who was in danger of losing his spot in the Twins' starting rotation, pitched Major League Baseball's first no-hitter of the season Tuesday night, shutting down the Chicago White Sox 1-0 at U.S. Cellular Field.
Liriano, who entered the game with a 1-4 record and a 9.13 ERA, walked six batters and threw just 66 strikes in 123 pitches but kept White Sox hitters off balance with his changeup and 93-mph fastball. It was the first complete game of his professional career at any level.
"It's pretty exciting. I can't explain myself," he said of his emotions.
The 27-year-old left-hander benefited from three double plays and several fine defensive plays behind him, most notably when third baseman Danny Valencia threw out Carlos Quentin from behind the base in foul territory on a chopper in the seventh inning.
In the eight, second baseman Alexi Casilla and first baseman Justin Morneau teamed up to complete a tough double play ? Casilla getting rid of the ball with a runner coming in hard and Morneau making a swipe tag of batter Gordon Beckham when the throw pulled him off the bag. Umpire Paul Emmel ruled Morneau tagged Beckham's shoulder.
In the fourth inning with two runners on via walks, center fielder Denard Span ran down a hard liner in the left-center field gap.
"They played great defense out there for me today. I couldn't have done it without them," Liriano said.
Morneau picked up a short-hop throw for the first out of the ninth and Adam Dunn lined to short on a full count for the final out, snapping a six-game losing streak for the Twins. Teammates mobbed the pitcher near the mound.
"We've said Liriano has electric stuff and no-hitter stuff so many times since he's been here and tonight he got it done," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Pretty exciting."
Liriano said he wasn't aware of the no-hitter until the eighth inning when teammates started avoiding him in the dugout.
"I got a couple of double plays and really hadn't even looked at the scoreboard," he said. "When everybody was walking away from me and nobody was talking to me, I was like 'What's going on?' "
Gardenhire, who lifted Kevin Slowey after seven no-hit innings last year because the pitcher was coming back from elbow tendinitis, said he never considered removing Liriano, whose previous high pitch-count this season was 97.
"I wasn't walking out there to the mound, I'll tell you that. He looked like he was doing fine. It was cool night," the manager said. "It was his ballgame the whole way."
Liriano was at 86 pitches after six innings, but a seven-pitch seventh put him within complete-game range.
The no-hitter was the first for the Twins since Eric Milton's against the Angels on Sept. 11, 1999.
There were six no-hitters last season, as well as one in the division series by Philadelphia's Roy Halladay. The last 1-0 no-hitter was thrown by Edwin Jackson, Tuesday night's losing pitcher, last June 25 when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, against Tampa Bay. It's the first time the White Sox had been no-hit at U.S. Cellular Field and the first against them since Bret Saberhagen did it in Kansas City in 1991.
Jason Kubel's fourth-inning home run off Jackson was the only run of the game.
Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz
See photos of: Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins
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