Liriano's baaaack! Twins regain 1st

The Minnesota Twins hope Francisco Liriano's return to the starting rotation will bolster their postseason push.

So far, so good: After Liriano's first major-league action since April, the Twins have reclaimed first place in the AL Central.

Liriano, who missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery and struggled in 3 starts earlier this year, threw 6 scoreless innings on Sunday, helping the host Twins to a 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Denard Span and Brendan Harris homered for Minnesota, which moved a half-game ahead of the White Sox. The Sox lost 14-3 at Kansas City.

"Been a long time," Liriano said, when reminded that his last major-league victory was also against the Indians, on July 23, 2006.

Indeed, it's been a long road back for the hard-throwing lefty from the Dominican Republic.

Two seasons ago, he went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts before arm problems cut short his rookie year. After taking off last season, he went 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA in 3 starts before being sent down in April.

But Liriano dominated at Triple-A Rochester, going 10-0 with a 2.67 ERA in his last 11 starts, and was openly frustrated as the Twins waited until Friday to call him up.

Mike Redmond caught Liriano's previous major-league start, when he gave up 6 runs in less than an inning at Oakland on April 24.

"Amazing transformation," Redmond said. "He's improved so much. ... His arm strength, you know it's not what it was before he first got hurt. But it was pretty close."

Cheered loudly by the announced crowd of 39,818 during starting lineup introductions, Liriano allowed 3 hits, walked three and struck out five against the Indians. He drew a standing ovation after striking out Ben Francisco to end the first.

"That settled me down a little bit," said Liriano, who threw 96 pitches. "I was really nervous."

Rays 6, Tigers 5 (10): Carl Crawford hit a tying RBI single in the 10th inning, and Carlos Pena drew a game-ending, bases-loaded walk to give AL East-leading Tampa Bay a victory over visiting Detroit.

Yankees 14, Angels 9: Xavier Nady homered and had a career-high 6 RBI, rallying host New York past Los Angeles.

Red Sox 5, Athletics 2: Jed Lowrie's 2-run triple highlighted a 3-run fourth inning that helped Daisuke Matsuzaka to his 12th win, and host Boston completed a three-game sweep over Oakland.

Mariners 8, Orioles 4: Raul Ibanez's 2-run single off reliever Jamie Walker capped a 3-run seventh inning to help host Seattle snap a seven-game home losing streak by beating Baltimore.

Rangers 8, Blue Jays 4: Gerald Laird homered twice and drove in 4 runs as host Texas beat Toronto.

National League

Braves 5, Brewers 0: Jorge Campillo shut out Milwaukee for 7 innings, and host Atlanta beat Ben Sheets and the Brewers to avoid a series sweep.

Phillies 5, Cardinals 4: Shane Victorino's 3-run home run capped a 4-run eighth inning against a vulnerable St. Louis Cardinals bullpen, and Brad Lidge survived a shaky ninth to stay perfect in save situations and preserve visiting Philadelphia's win.

Dodgers 9, Diamondbacks 3: Manny Ramirez continued to swing a hot bat in his first series with host Los Angeles, going 4-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI in a victory over Arizona.

Astros 4, Mets 0: Ty Wigginton homered, and host Houston completed its first three-game sweep of the Mets since September 1993.

Rockies 3, Marlins 2: Pinch hitter Seth Smith drove in the winning run with a single in the ninth inning, lifting Colorado past host Miami.

Nationals 4, Reds 2: Host Washington completed only its second sweep of the year, jumping ahead with a 4-run first inning in a victory over Cincinnati.

Padres 4, Giants 1: Greg Maddux drove in a run and pitched 6 strong innings for his 352nd career victory, leading host San Diego past San Francisco.