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Twins cruising behind Francisco Liriano, lead Yankees

The Twins are wearing the pinstripes this evening at Target Field. That’s not a metaphor, it’s the truth. The Twins are wearing pinstripes. Let’s get to the updates...

Francisco Liriano got himself into trouble in the top of the third inning with a leadoff walk to Yankees speedster Brett Gardner, who stole 47 bases in 56 chances during the regular season. Derek Jeter then followed with a sharp single to left field that fell just in front of Delmon Young. But Nick Swisher flied out, Mark Teixeira did the same and a strikeout of Alex Rodriguez brought the Minnesota faithful to its feet.

Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson punched a single into left field to open the bottom of the frame and then advanced to third base on a soft infield groundout by Joe Mauer. A passed ball one pitch later allowed “The O-Dog” to cross the plate and put the Twins up 3-0 after three innings.

Liriano rattled off a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, retiring Robinson Cano on a groundout, Marcus Thames on a flyout and Jorge Posada on a gorgeous strikeout. The Twins lefty, who fanned 201 batters in 191-plus innings during the regular season, is absolutely coasting through four innings against baseball’s most productive lineup.