It falls on Pavstache to haul the Twins back up into first place. At this point, it may be a toss-up between Pavano and Liriano regarding who is the Twins ace this year. He doesn't strike out many batters (5.08 per nine), but he also doesn't walk many (1.37 per nine). Ground balls have been the key for Pavano, as his 1.45 GB/FB ratio is higher than he's seen since leaving Florida. As a result, his xFIP (4.00) is relatively low. Luck appears to be a factor in Pavano's 3.30 ERA outperforming his xFIP, as his BABIP is quite low (.265) relative to his line drive rate (19.6%).
Jesse Litsch missed much of last season and the first portion of this year due to Tommy John surgery, and while he won't throw fastballs by many batters, he mixes a slider, cutter, curve ball and changeup well. Litsch historically has been a ground ball pitcher (1.39 GB/FB career), but in four starts this season he's given up more fly balls than ground balls. He's been hit hard twice by decent offenses (at Colorado, home against Philadelphia) and had two decent outings against poor offenses (home against San Francisco, at Cleveland), so hopefully tonight will be an off night for Mr. Litsch.
Lineups are after the jump.