Do you feel the excitement in your fingers, just a little bit? None of us were able to actually watch today's game, but if you listed to it like I did...or even if you just open up a recap...and you see how well Francisco Liriano pitched today, aren't you just a little bit giddy? Because you know that, in the bottom of your heart, he's capable of performances like this at any time.

Of course he's also capable of blowing his mechanics and imploding on the mound, but that wasn't the case today. Today, Liriano was a buzz saw through the Pittsburgh Pirates, not allowing a single hit across five innings while walking just one man. He struck out six.

Luis Perdomo allowed the only Pittsburgh hit of the afternoon, in the top of the eighth inning. Casey Fien struck out the side in the ninth. On the offensive side, Brian Dozier homered in the five-run seventh. Jamey Carroll, Ray Chang, Brian Dinkelman, and Rene Rivera all tallied doubles. Minnesota also put up five runs in the second, finishing with a blow-out 10-0 victory.

But results don't mean anything. Right?

Battle for Squatter's Rights

Rene Rivera: 1-for-1, 2B, R, BB

Studs

Liriano, Gray, Deduno, Perdomo, Fien, Carroll, Dozier, Plouffe, Bates, Benson