Francisco Liriano Struggles Again, Minnesota Twins Plan Something New

Twins Vs. Rays Final Score: Minnesota Falls To Tampa Bay In Series Finale, 6-2

The opportunities remain few and far between for a dormant Minnesota Twins offense, as Ron Gardenhire's team came up short against Tampa Bay on Sunday to lose the three-game series and fall to 5-11 on the year.

Slugger Josh Willingham's 15-game hitting streak was abruptly halted in the defeat, and the left fielder finished 0-for-2 with one walk. Pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit provided the only offense of the afternoon for the Twins with a two-run single in the sixth inning, as the Tampa Bay pitching staff kept a surprisingly firm hold on the series throughout. As a team, the Twins could only manage to produce five hits over the course of the game.

Francisco Liriano barely lowered his season ERA from 11.91 to 11.02 with yet another poor effort, and was once again erratic with four walks in just five innings. Despite only giving up three hits, Liriano was burned for five runs for the fourth consecutive time this season, and is starting to look like a massive liability at the top of the Twins' rotation.

Jeff Niemann picked up the win for Tampa Bay to snag his first victory of the season, but only threw 80 pitches and 5.1 innings before departing. Minnesota will look to turn things around on Monday when it opens a three-game series at home with Boston with a well-traveled Jason Marquis on the hill.

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Twins Vs. Rays Starting Lineups: Josh Willingham Looks To Extend Hitting Streak To 16 Games

The Minnesota Twins put a lot of faith in winter acquisition Josh Willingham, and the veteran outfielder has responded accordingly with an impressive 15-game hitting streak to open the year. Willingham, who is batting .339 so far on the season, will aim to hit 16 on Sunday against Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann as the Twins look to take the three-game series.

Now that that starter Nick Blackburn is back to health and ready to join the active roster, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press broke the news that Anthony Swarzak has been shifted into a relief role for the time being.

BTW, with Blackburn healthy after today's bullpen session, Anthony Swarzak moves back into the bullpen, Gardenhire said. #Twins

— John Shipley (@shipleykid) April 22, 2012

Swarzak is 0-3 on the year with a 6.75 ERA, and has started 26 games for Minnesota dating back to 2009. Because he has not pitched since April 19th, Swarzak is expected to be available out of the bullpen for the finale. Here are the starting lineups for Sunday's game:

Twins
Denard Span - CF
Jamey Carroll - SS
Joe Mauer - C
Josh Willingham - LF
Justin Morneau - DH
Chris Parmelee - 1B
Danny Valencia - 3B
Clete Thomas - RF
Alexi Casilla - 2B
Francisco Liriano - SP

Rays
Desmond Jennings - LF
Ben Zobrist - RF
Carlos Pena - 1B
Evan Longoria - 3B
Jeff Keppinger - DH
B.J. Upton - CF
Sean Rodriguez - SS
Chris Gimenez - C
Elliot Johnson - 2B
Jeff Niemann - SP

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Nick Blackburn Injury Update: Twins Pitcher Reportedly Ready To Return To Starting Rotation On Tuesday

Minnesota Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn took a positive step forward on Sunday in his recovery from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss a start. Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 reports Blackburn now expects to return to the starting rotation on Tuesday.

Nick Blackburn threw an "all-out" bullpen today and "doesn't feel a thing" in his shoulder, Ron Gardenhire tells @1500ESPN. Will start Tues.

— Phil Mackey (@PMac21) April 22, 2012

The right-handed Blackburn (0-1, 5.56 ERA) left the mound with stiffness in his shoulder in the sixth inning of last Saturday's game against the Texas Rangers. The injury put a damper on what had been a solid start against the Rangers up until that point. Texas went on to win the game and Blackburn missed his next start.

If Blackburn avoids any further set backs and starts on Tuesday he will face the Boston Red Sox in the middle game of a three-game series at Target Field.

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Twins Vs. Rays: Minnesota Tries To Bounce Back With Win To End Series At Tampa Bay

The Minnesota Twins failed to earn an elusive second consecutive win when they lost the middle game of their weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1 on Saturday.

So now the Twins hope to continue their pattern of alternating between wins and losses which has now reached seven games. That will require jump-starting the offense again after Tampa Bay's James Shields kept the Minnesota bats in check. The Twins will face big right-hander Jeff Niemann in the series finale. Nieman has struggled so far this season, losing both of his starts and taking a 4.50 ERA to the mound against the Twins.

Minnesota counters with left-hander Francisco Liriano who will also take the hill in the midst of a poor start to the season. Liriano is 0-2 in his three starts, carting around a hefty 11.91 ERA with more walks (9) than strikeouts (8).

The game is scheduled to start at 1:40 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports North.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more MLB news and analysis, check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rays Final Score: Minnesota Stifled By Tampa Bay Starter James Shields In 4-1 Defeat

The Minnesota Twins dropped to a frustrating 5-10 on the season on Saturday night in Florida, as Tampa Bay and pitcher James Shields walked away with a convincing 4-1 victory.

Minnesota starter Carl Pavano did manage to pitch six strong innings, and did not walk his first batter until the sixth inning (finished with two walks). Pavano ended the night with seven strikeouts and two earned runs allowed, but had no chance for a victory due to the Twins' lackluster offense.

Shields, who pitched 8.0 innings with seven strikeouts and only five hits, was the real story, as he continually frustrated Minnesota hitters with impressive movement on his pitches. First baseman Joe Mauer picked up a pair of hits for the Twins, but a Ryan Doumit sacrifice in the ninth was the team's only bright spot offensively of the night.

Outfielder Josh Willingham extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in his final at bat, and will go for 16 against Tampa Bay's Josh Neimann in Sunday's series finale. The Twins will send the often-erratic Francisco Liriano to the hill on Sunday with a chance to win the three-game series.

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Twins Vs. Rays: Minnesota Looks To Make It Two In A Row Against Tampa Bay

The Minnesota Twins look to break a six-game pattern of alternating between wins and loss when they try for their second consecutive win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday evening.

The Twins opened up the weekend series with the Rays on Friday night with a 5-4 win as closer Matt Capps saved his fourth game making him 4-for-4 in save opportunities in the early season for the Twins. Joe Mauer has been finding his groove at the plate for Minnesota and will take a five-game hitting streak into Saturday's action after knocking in two runs in the win on Friday.

Minnesota will need all of the offense they can muster against Tampa Bay starter James Shields. The right-hander is 2-0 after a shaky no decision to start the season. Shields pitched at least eight innings in his last two starts and only given up a combined two runs in both games.

Minnesota will counter with veteran right-hander Carl Pavano on the hill. Pavano is 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA but is coming off a nice win over his former team, the New York Yankees in which he pitched seven innings to earn the win.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports North.

For more on the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. More on the Tampa Bay Rays can be found at DRaysBay. More news and info on Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rays: Josh Willingham's 3-Run Double Gives Minnesota 5-4 Win

Josh Willingham did it again on Friday night in Tampa Bay. For the 14th game in row, every game of the season so far, Willingham continued his hitting streak, this time with a three-run double in the seventh inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 5-4 win over the Rays.

It looked like the Twins were in trouble. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Carlos Pena tied it, and Evan Longoria took Liam Hendriks deep to give Tampa a 4-2 lead.

Willingham put the Twins on top in the next inning with his bases loaded double that came with two outs, just to sweeten the moment.

Joe Mauer was two-for-three, his fifth straight game with a hit, with two RBI.

Hendriks gave up all four Tampa Runs, getting pulled with two outs in the sixth. Matt Maloney was credited with the win, and Matt Capps picked up his fourth save of the season.

Brandon Gomes, in relief of Matt Moore, gave up the game-winning double to Willingham.

For more on the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. More on the Tampa Bay Rays can be found at DRaysBay. More news and info on Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rays: Minnesota Continues AL East Road Trip

The Minnesota Twins will face the Tampa Bay Rays in a three game series starting Friday.