Hernandez crafts another victory/Liriano called up

Livan Hernandez became the winningest pitcher in the majors improving to 3-0 as he allowed no runs runs through 7 innings Friday night in Kansas City. Hernandez got himself into some sticky situation, but walked away unscathed and confused the Royal batters with offspeed pitches and pinpoint control. I could have been a rich man had I bet people Livan Hernandez would start the season 3-0.

Carlos Gomez had another solid night picking up a double, triple, and knocked in 2 RBIs. Justin Morneau hit his third homerun of the season, a solo shot in the third inning, and two Twin rookies, Denard Span and Matt Tolbert, picked up their first career RBIs. Amazingly, Matt Tolbert who was the last man to make the Twins roster this spring is batting .556 to start the season. After collecting 3 hits tonight, Tolbert is 12-21 and making a good case to be in the lineup everyday. Very fun to watch the kid play. He plays tough, works hard, and adds some energy and electricity to the team.

* BIG NEWS *

Even bigger than the Twins victory was the announcement before the came that Kevin Slowey will be put on the 15-day disabled list, setting the stage for Francisco Liriano to make his first major league start since September of 2006.

I must admit, the move comes as a surprise to me as Liriano has struggled in his two minor league starts this spring posting a 6.75 ERA and allowing 11 hits and 7 runs in 9 1/3 IP. The Twins are not in a situation where they need Liriano and I think he should be brought back from surgery slowly. However, I trust the organization's decision and lets hope that this begins the road back to Liriano circa 2006. As I stated this winter, if Liriano can return to his dominating form the 2008 Twins will be a dangerous team.

Sunday in Kansas City, we will see...