The Minnesota Twins know Francisco Liriano well. The left-hander spent seven seasons in a Twins uniform and pitched in more than 150 games for Minnesota.
Along the way, Liriano had some great moments -- including a no-hitter against the White Sox -- but he also had some games in which he struggled mightily. Since Liriano was traded to Chicago late in the 2012 season, he'd faced his former team twice and performed well.
On Tuesday in Pittsburgh, the Twins finally got to face the other Liriano. Minnesota tagged the Pirates lefty for seven runs in just two innings to earn an 8-5 win in the first game of the brief two-game series at PNC Park. It was Liriano's shortest outing since April 26 of last year when he also lasted a mere two innings.
"When he grabs the ball, you know it's going to be a tough day and you try to be patient," said Twins first baseman Joe Mauer. "That first inning it was a little bit tough to see, but I was proud of the guys throughout the lineup to put up some runs really quick off a really good pitcher. That's always nice."
Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, who played briefly with Liriano in 2012, put Minnesota's first run of the game on the board when he took a Liriano fastball deep for a solo shot to center. It was Dozier's team-leading seventh homer of the year, and the fifth home run Liriano (who was 1-3 with a 2.96 ERA prior to Tuesday) has allowed this year.
Things got even messier for the former Twin -- and better for the current Twins -- in the second inning, during which Minnesota scored six runs to effectively knock Liriano out of the game. All of the damage came with two outs, too, as Liriano couldn't put Minnesota away to stop the bleeding.
The first of six runs in the second came thanks to a wild pitch by Liriano. Catcher Francisco Cervelli couldn't find the pitch from Liriano, allowing Minnesota's Kurt Suzuki to score from third for a 2-0 Twins lead.
After Liriano reloaded the bases by walking Dozier, Joe Mauer, Liriano's former catcher during his time in Minnesota, made Pittsburgh pay with a bases-clearing single that rolled slowly into left field. Mauer took second base on the throw home after driving in Shane Robinson, Danny Santana and Dozier. It was the second time this season Mauer has picked up three RBI with the bases loaded; he also did so with a triple to the gap in right-center field at Comerica Park in Detroit earlier this year.
On Tuesday, he did so by beating the shift with a hit to left field.
"It's interesting. Every team's different. That was a new shift that I've seen this year," Mauer said. "I'm glad it found a hole there with guys on."
Minnesota wasn't done beating up on its former pitcher. Three pitches after Mauer cleared the bases with his single, Trevor Plouffe tagged a Liriano changeup and sent it into the left field seats for a 7-0 lead.
When it came time for Liriano to bat in the second inning, he was replaced by pinch hitter Jose Tabata. That officially ended Liriano's night after two innings of work. It was the eighth game of Liriano's career in which he lasted two or fewer innings in a start. Six of those eight occurrences came during his time in Minnesota.
As it turned out, the Twins needed all seven of those runs they scored against Liriano. Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings, while the Twins' bullpen surrendered another and allowed the tying run to get to the plate before Blaine Boyer worked out of the jam.
The early seven-run lead quickly felt small, but the work Minnesota's lineup did on Liriano wound up being just enough.
"Frankie was struggling a little bit with his command, and our guys were prepared. They had a good plan and put a lot of good swings on, starting with Dozier and Trevor," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "There were a lot of good at-bats in there, especially in that big inning in the second."
FOX Sports North's Jamie Hersch contributed to this report.
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