Starting Pitchers
Liriano looked a bit more like the guy he's capable of being his last time out, striking out eight in seven innings, allowing just five hits and a pair of walks. As we've already covered he's been much better since June 1, so here's hoping he can turn in the first quality performance from Minnesota's starters this series. He should be able to manage a handful of strikeouts against this lineup.
Aceves, a 26-year old righty, is spending his second season seeing time on a major league roster. He's good for a few strikeouts, is stingy with the free passes and so far this season has averaged less than a base runner per inning. Which is simply stellar. He's been a fly-ball pitcher in his 40 innings, with nearly half of his balls in play getting hit in the air, but he's been above average at keeping those flies in the park. Just 9.3% of them turn into a gopher ball. He offers a good fastball in the low 90's, a fairly poor incarnation of cutter, and then a curve and a changeup; both are very effective.