Francisco Liriano is back to his old self before the arm surgery and having a heckuva' season so far for the Twins who open a three-game set in Detroit on Tuesday.
The Twins continue their road swing making a stop in the Motor City for a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
Minnesota will send left-hander Francisco Liriano to the bump with his 2-0 record and ERA of 1.29 on the season. Liriano is coming off another solid performance in his last start as he blanked the Indians in a 6-0 home victory. He pitched eight strong innings giving up six hits two walks and striking out six.
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The left-hander has had little trouble with the Tigers posting a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 3.38 and a WHIP of only 0.971 since 1997.
The Twins are 13-6 on the year, including a solid 7-3 on the highway and a remarkable 9-1 when playing under the lights. They will face Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander who is 1-1 with an ERA of 6.95 this season. Minnesota has gone 9-5 versus right-handed starters averaging 5.5 runs per game and a batting average of .362 during the 2010 campaign.
The Twins bullpen has been strong on the road with an ERA of only 1.45 in 31 innings of work allowing five earned runs with an 80 percent save record. The Tigers are 28-43 (-19.7 Units) versus a bullpen that converts on 75 percent or more of their save opportunities the last three seasons.
The Twins were off on Monday while Detroit was in Texas completing a four-game set against the host Rangers. Minnesota is 28-13 (+14.5 Units) when playing with a day off over the last three seasons.
Detroit is 11-9 on the season, including 2-2 versus left-handers and 3-6 when playing at night. The Tigers are averaging 4.2 runs against lefties this season with a batting average of .351. Minnesota is 50-30 (+15.5 Units) versus American League teams scoring 4.7 or less runs per game on the season over the last two seasons.
Our TPR Index projects a Twins victory by 2.3 runs over the Tigers on Tuesday night in Detroit. The Math Model also favors Liriano and his teammates over Verlander and the Cats with a 1.97 run advantage.
With strong fundamental, technical and situational support for the underdog we will back the Minnesota Twins here as they grab the first game of this three-game set.
Projected Final Score: Minnesota-4 Detroit-2
Free Pick: Twins +110