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Twins' Liriano Hurts Elbow, Is Out for the Year
Twins ace Francisco Liriano slumps in pain after hurting his left elbow in the third inning. "I felt a pop and it really hurts," he said.
(By Andy King -- Associated Press)
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The Twins will have to make their playoff push without Francisco Liriano .
A strong rookie of the year candidate, Liriano walked off the mound because of elbow trouble yesterday in Minneapolis in his return to the Minnesota rotation. After a 1-0 loss to the Athletics, Manager Ron Gardenhire said Liriano was done for the year.
"Obviously he won't be pitching again," Gardenhire said. "Something is in there bothering and continuing to stop him. . . . Obviously when he gets in a game and puts a little extra torque in there, something is not right. We have to make sure we stop it and do what we have to do."
Liriano slumped off the mound in the third inning. Trainers and Gardenhire immediately rushed out to attend to the all-star lefty and a hush fell over the crowd that had been so excited to see him back in action.
"The last two pitches I threw, I felt a pop and it really hurts," Liriano said.
Liriano walked slowly toward the dugout and fans gave him a standing ovation -- clearly, they were wondering whether they had seen the last of him this year.
The Twins later said he had pain in his left elbow.
He had an MRI exam after the game, and thoughts immediately turned to Tommy John surgery, a ligament-replacement procedure that typically keeps pitchers out for more than a year.
Liriano said he was waiting to hear from team doctors about the next move.
Liriano was 12-3 with a 2.19 ERA before leaving a start against the Tigers on Aug. 8 with a strained ligament in his arm.
· THE CYCLE: Rangers OF Gary Matthews Jr . hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats in Detroit.
Matthews led off the game with a single, doubled in the second inning, hit a triple in the fourth and led off the sixth with a homer to left-center.
He is the third Rangers player to accomplish the feat. He joins Mark Teixeira , who did it on Aug. 17, 2004, against the Indians, and Oddibe McDowell , who did it on July 23, 1985, also against Cleveland.
· R. SORIANO DONE: Mariners reliever Rafael Soriano will not pitch again this season, the result of being hit in the head by Vladimir Guerrero 's line drive two weeks ago.
-- From News Services
