Three low scoring affairs ended in a series victory for the Twins against Central division rival Cleveland Indians. On Friday night the Twins were shut out while Francisco Liriano struggled again in his second start of the season. Liriano allowed “only” 3 runs through 5 complete innings, but it could’ve been worse. He gave up 4 hits, walked 5 and struck out just 3. Rick Anderson and Ron Gardenhire have raved about his last two bullpen sessions, but when he goes out and struggles to find his location for 5 innings, it’s hard to fully believe what they see.

With Kevin Slowey due to begin a rehab assignment, the Twins could soon face a difficult decision. A lot can happen in a couple weeks, but before long Liriano could be the odd man out, which won’t necessarily be a bad thing, as he could certainly use the work.

On Saturday afternoon Nick Blackburn shut down the Indians for 7 2/3 innings and led the Twins to a 3-0 victory. Justin Morneau hit a 2-run homer in the first inning and Blackburn cruised to hold that lead. Blackburn struck out just 1 batter, but succeeded by walking no one and getting 4 double plays. In other words, don’t expect that kind of success every night from Blackburn. Craig Monroe got a rare start, as DH, and was 2-3 with a double in the game. The team will also face a decision when Michael Cuddyer returns, as expected, on Friday night. I have a feeling Denard Span, who was called up to replace Cuddyer, will be sent packing. He hasn’t been spectacular at the plate and his fielding in RF has been somewhat adventurous.

In the rubber game on Sunday, Scott Baker started out a little shaky. He allowed Cleveland’s only run in the 2nd inning and then worked out of a jam in the third inning by getting Travis Hafner on strikes and then inducing a double play ball from Victor Martinez. His pitch count through three innings was 52, but he cruised through the next 4 innings, retiring 9 straight batters at one point. Baker struck out a season-high eight batters, and lowered his ERA to 3.51. Sunday’s game went into extra innings with a 1-1 tie, but was broken quickly when Brendan Harris and Jason Kubel each got two out singles before Morneau drove in Harris with a single of his own. The game only went into extra innings because Carlos Gomez sprawled out to make a spectacular catch on a fly ball with 1 out and a runner on second for Cleveland.

Series Notes

• Adam Everett was finally placed on the 15-day DL (shoulder) on Saturday. Brian Buscher was recalled Sunday to take his place. He hit a double for his only hit on the day as the starting 3B. Mike Lamb started at 1B.
• The weekend improved the Twins’ season record to 9-10.
• Matt Guerrier picked up the win on Sunday.
• Nick Blackburn picked up his first win of the season (and career) on Saturday.
• Sunday’s game was, surprisingly, the first extra inning game of the season for the Twins. It was the seventh 1-run game of the season.
• The Twins are now tied for second place in the AL Central with once frontrunner Kansas City, who have lost their last 4 games. The White Sox lead the division by 2.5 games with an 11-7 record. Cleveland and Detroit own the bottom two spots with 7-12 and 6-13 records, respectively.

Looking ahead

The Twins have Monday off before they will head out the the West Coast for a 6 game swing. They’ll start in Oakland and then play in Texas next weekend. Livan Hernandez (3-0) is scheduled to start against Joe Blanton (1-3) on Tuesday.