Finally a win... Liriano on the way?

The Twins grabbed a very badly needed win last night agains the Cleveland Indians. The offense came to life scoring six runs with a big five run third inning. Jason Kubel smashed his 8th homerun of the season and Justin Morneau had a solid game driving in three runs.

Nick Blackburn returned to form allowing just two runs over seven innings and striking out five. Blackburn struggled in his first start after being hit in the face off of the bat of Bobby Abreu in the Yankees series. All and all it was good win, the bullpen still looked exhausted and allowed three runs to make the game close in the 7th inning, but Joe Nathan came in and shut the door for his 17th save of the season.

Livan Hernandez takes the mound tonight and hopefully the Twins can win a series on the road in Cleveland.

In other Twins news...

Kelly Theiser of MLB.com reported that Francisco Liriano could soon be called up from AAA Rochester to join the big league club. Liriano allowed only one run over six innings striking out seven batters. The lefty has been regaining both his control and his confidence. In his past three starts, the former All-Star has gone 2-0 posting a 2.45 ERA.

Manager Ron Gardenhire stated that if Liriano returns it will certainly be in the rotation and not in the bullpend under any circumstance. The timing of Liriano's return could be nearly perfect. The rotation has been struggling a bit lately and if the Liriano of old returns and claims the role of staff ace it would be a huge addition for this team. Since the departure of Johan Santana the Twins have lacked that shut down starter to help stop losing streaks like the six-game streak the Twins just suffered.

Despite Thesier's report, I would forecast about two more weeks before Liriano's return. It would be great to see him by the end of the month, and if not I would certainly expect to see him after the All-Star break. Here's to hoping....