Twins Bring Liriano Up From Minors

Francisco Liriano finally got what he wanted. No more Class AAA hitters for him. "The Franchise" is back in Minnesota's starting rotation.

The Twins waited until a day after the trade deadline to make their big move, promoting Liriano from Rochester yesterday and cutting ties with RHP Liván Hernández and OF Craig Monroe.

"It's what I was waiting for," said Liriano, who will start Sunday's series finale against Cleveland. "I'm so happy to be here."

The left-hander missed all of last season after ligament replacement surgery and was battered in his first major league stint this season, going 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA before being sent down in April.

Liriano dominated for Rochester, going 10-0 with a 2.67 ERA in his last 11 starts. Yet the Twins stuck with Hernández and youngsters Glen Perkins, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey in a rotation that had them a half-game behind the White Sox in the AL Central heading into last night.

· YANKEES: OF Xavier Nady was out of the lineup against the Angels because of inflammation in his right quadriceps.

Nady, acquired from the Pirates last weekend, felt the injury after his first at-bat Wednesday night. He said he was able to run with it, but the team wanted to play it safe.

"You want to be smart and not lose him for an extended period," Manager Joe Girardi said.

· RANGERS: CF Josh Hamilton left last night's game against the Blue Jays after the sixth inning with dizziness. His status is day-to-day.

The all-star slugger hit his 26th home run in the fourth inning and drove in two runs to increase his major league-leading RBI total to 106.