Angel pitcher Jered Weaver really killed the Twins' buzz in Anaheim. Photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Good news, Twins fans: there’s no way to go but up.

Nearly a year to the day after Francisco Liriano provided the only bright spot of the 2011 season, Angel hurler Jered Weaver no-hit the Twins. His gem completed a three game sweep that has left the Twins with the worst record in the Major Leagues. The Angels won the game 9-0, so it also marked the second consecutive game where the Twins have failed to score a run.

Only two Twins reached base in the game. Joe Mauer reached on a strikeout when catcher Chris Ianetta missed the last pitch, and Josh Willingham drew a walk in the seventh inning. Not counting the phantom Mauer strikeout, Weaver notched nine Ks against the Twins.

On the other side of the mound, Liam Hendriks continued the proud tradition of Twins starting pitchers allowing piles and piles of runs. He yielded six in less than three innings thanks to nine hits. The nine hits do not tell the whole story, though, because the boxscore does not show how hard the Angels were hitting the ball every at bat. Alex Burnett allowed three more runs in an inning of long relief before Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, and Matt Capps kept the Angels scoreless the rest of the way.

Years from now the Twins might look back on this game and thank Weaver, because this is truly the game where the Twins hit rock bottom. Seriously, we’ll all be laughing about this in a few years’ time.

In the meantime, it’s the Angels who should be thanking the Twins. Los Angeles began this three game series with a 7-15 record, a heavy disappointment for a team expected to be one of the AL’s elite. Now with three convincing wins, the Halos have a much more positive outlook on the season. The Twins provided the same service for Boston last week; the Red Sox were well under .500 when they visited  the Twins, but they swept Minnesota and have now won seven of their last eight.

It looks like the Twins have found their role this season. They’re like the best friend in a romantic comedy who perks up the lead actress through self-deprecation and humor. In baseball terms, they’re the opposite of a spoiler. Instead of sneaking up on good teams and beating them, they let struggling teams take cheap shots to build their confidence.

The Twins are a freshener.

Francisco "F-Bomb" Liriano was at his best today. Photo by Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

Okay, there was one unsatisfying aspect: it was not quite a no-hitter. Francisco Liriano held the Bucs hitless over five innings, then Jeff Gray and Sam Deduno each added a hitless frame. Luis Perdomo started the eighth with a groundout, but then Brandon Boggs ruined everything with a single (C’mon, Boggs! This game was meaningless. Couldn’t you have just struck out and made us happy?). The good news is that Brian Dinkelman gunned down Boggs as he attempted to stretch the single into a double, but he still got credit for the only Pittsburgh hit. Sure, it’s Spring Training, so the games do not mean anything, but it would have been pretty exciting to see a no-hitter in March. Spring Training records are difficult to come by, but as far as I can tell, there has not been a no-hitter in the Grapefruit League since the Marlins blanked the Tigers on March 22, 2009. If anything, a Spring Training no-hitter is probably more rare than a regular season one, since even a dominant starter gets removed from the game after a few innings, thus giving the opponents a chance to score a cheap hit off a young reliever.

Liriano was great today. Aside from journeyman first baseman Jake Fox, who drew a two out walk in the second, no Pirate reached base against the Twins’ enigmatic ace. Liriano rebounded from the Fox walk by striking out Nate McLouth. Liriano fanned six Pirates in all, and it added up to a brilliant rebound performance after a bad third inning in his last outing against the Blue Jays. For the spring, he has 18 strikeouts in 13 innings now, with a 2.76 ERA and 0.50 WHIP. We all know Spring Trianing stats do not mean much, but it sure would be nice to think that Liriano could carry on some of that stingy pitching into April. Casey Fien also did very well. He finished the game by striking out the side 1-2-3 in the ninth. He now has six strikeouts in 4.1 Grapefruit innings, and he has not allowed a hit.

On the hitting side of the equation, the Twins did equally well. Jamey Carroll snapped out of a slump with a pair of hits and a couple RBI. Top prospect Brian Dozier replaced him and socked a home run to start a seventh inning rally. Joe Benson added a pair of hits as well. In fact, the only players who really did not join in the hit parade were star hitters Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, who went a combined 0 for 5 (though Morneau did knock in a run with a  groundout).

There was one other negative turn of events today. Trevor Plouffe came off the field after singling in the seventh. The injury is not thought to be serious, though.

All in all, it was a great game for a Spring Sunday. Whether you were listening while mowing the lawn or while recovering from a St. Patrick’s Day hangover, you could not have asked for a better effort from the Twins.

Francisco Liriano flirted with his second no-hitter of the year on Sunday and propelled the Twins to their 9th win of June

MINNEAPOLIS — Not since the great Nolan Ryan in 1973 has a pitcher thrown a no-hitter twice in the same regular season. That could have all changed on a cloudy Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis when Francisco Liriano, just 4 starts removed from his May 3rd no-hitter in Chicago,charged towards doubling his luck by adding yet another no hit outing to his season.

The victim this time is a bit more impressive, the hot hitting Texas Rangers who are one of baseball’s best teams.

Liriano actually had a perfect game going for him and made it through nearly seven full innings before infielder Luke Hughes booted a ground ball and was charged with an error. The sellout crowd at Target Field rose to their feet and unleashed a standing ovation for Liriano, but he wasn’t out of the running quite yet.

The game was a nail bitter until that seventh inning. coming into it, the Twins bats were only able to give Liriano a 1-0 lead to work with but after his perfect game was ruined, the bats came alive in the bottom half of the inning. The Twins, bolstered by a Micheal Cuddyer 3-run homerun, scored 5 runs to give Liriano a 6-0 cushion to play with and the confidence that no matter what happened, his chances of getting the all important win sky rocketed.

The down side of the massive seventh inning surge by the Twins was the fact Liriano had to sit on the bench watching it all. He sat on the bench in 63 degree weather for 27 straight minutes. He came out in the top half of the eighth and and immediately went down 3-1 to Adrain Beltre. Liriano then delivered a pitch that Beltre had been waiting for and he blasted it to center. The ball (more…)