Francisco Liriano’s 123rd pitch of the night head

CHICAGO — Francisco Liriano’s 123rd pitch of the night headed to the plate, and Adam Dunn turned on it.The ball streaked toward the left side of the infield. For an instant, it appeared Liriano’s no-hit bid might be shattered with one out to go.Shortstop Matt Tolbert took two steps to his right, gloved the liner, spun around and raised the ball in triumph with his bare hand. Then he sprinted to the mound,Cheap Armani Men Jeans, Minnesota Twins Jerseys where the pitcher was being mobbed by teammates, to personally deliver the prize.On a cold night at U.S. Cellular Field, Liriano wiped away the memory of all those shaky outings this season, pitching a no-hitter that led the Minnesota Twins over the Chicago White Sox 1-0 Tuesday.”It was a crazy night,” said Liriano, who might have been pitching to save his spot in the rotation following a 1-4 start with a 9.13 ERA coming in.”When I go out there I try to think positive,” he said. “I don’t want to think about, ‘They’re going to put me in the bullpen.’ I just try to do my best.”
Liriano was running low on energy in the final innings, even as his pitches were still baffling the hapless White Sox and pressure mounted.With the no-hitter within reach and his pitch count climbing, he relied on defense to help him finish.”To be honest I was running out of gas,” he said. “I just thank my teammates that they made some great plays behind me tonight.”Liriano (2-4) walked six and struck out two in his first complete game in 95 major league starts. MLB Jerseys The 27-year-old left-hander, who reached the big leagues in 2005, matched his career high with 123 pitches.”I can’t explain it. I feel so nervous and so happy right now,” Liriano said.He survived a rocky ninth inning that began when Brent Morel grounded to shortstop and Tolbert made a one-hop throw that first baseman Justin Morneau scooped. Juan Pierre walked and Alexei Ramirez popped to shortstop.Liriano fell behind Dunn 3-0 in the count, then got a pair of strikes. After a foul ball, Dunn followed with perhaps the hardest-hit ball off Liriano all night.
The White Sox were no-hit for the 13th time, the first since they were beaten by Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen on Aug. 26, 1991.Liriano was acquired in 2003 in the famously lopsided trade that also brought Joe Nathan to Minnesota in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski.He burst onto the scene in 2006, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and dominating overmatched hitters with an untouchable slider. But the violent delivery caused him to develop arm problems toward the end of that season and had elbow-ligament replacement surgery that November.His road back has been a long and difficult one. Cheap Jerseys From China He missed all of 2007, then struggled to regain his form over the next two years, leading some to wonder if he ever would make it all the way back after going 5-13 with a 5.80 ERA in 2009.Jackson understood the pressure Liriano was feeling in the final inning.”It’s definitely one of those things. One hit away. One hit can be a great day or one hit can be an almost day,” Jackson said. “He made his pitches when he needed to. He was great.”