So that's why Liriano started in the bullpen.

Matt Garza, the Twins' Next Hot Pitching Prospect, made his debut in the bigs, and it was a rather rude awakening. After a promising start -- striking out the first batter on 3 pitches -- he went only 2-2/3 innings, giving up 7 earned runs on like a bajillion (okay, 8) hits.

Even though he's now got an ERA approaching 24, Garza looks to have a promising future in the Twins' rotation, once he starts throwing his off-speed stuff for strikes. Which is, of course the main reason the Twins' management had kept him in the minors until the Twins' rotation woes got so bad as to leave no other option but to call Garza up.

It doesn't help that Garza still would have had to pitch a shutout last night in order to get the win. The Twins scored 1 run, exactly one more than in last night's game. Suddenly, the Twins are winning on the road and losing at home? They're still right in the middle of the wildcard race, but they'll need to step it up to stay there.