Pitching against his old team in his first start for his new one, Francisco Liriano allowed two runs in six innings and struck out eight as the White Sox beat the Twins 4-3 on Tuesday.
The game was tied 2-2 after the top of the seventh, so Liriano didn’t factor into the decision. The White Sox won it in the ninth after A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run homer. The Twins came back with one in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn’t enough.
Liriano struck out his old batterymate, Joe Mauer, twice on the night. White Sox manager Robin Ventura let him throw 113 pitches, his high total for the season. He’s thrown more pitches just three times in his career; 117 on June 23, 2009, 123 on May 2, 2010 and 123 on May 3, 2011 (his no-hitter against the White S0x).