Francisco Liriano No-Hitter: Minnesota Twins Ace Pitches First No-No of 2011

Minnesota Twins' ace Francisco Liriano rebounded from a disappointing April in emphatic fashion Tuesday night, opening his May slate with Major League Baseball's first no-hitter of 2011.  

Opposing starter Edwin Jackson, who allowed just one run over eight solid innings, appeared game for a pitching duel.  Liriano out-dueled his counterpart, but he needed every bit of his dominance to hold off the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, 1-0.   

Requiring 123 pitches to complete the feat, Liriano tempted fate with one out in the ninth inning when he issued a free pass to White Sox' leadoff man Juan Pierre.  He was able to dodge disappointment, however, by inducing a harmless Alexei Ramirez pop up followed by an Adam Dunn frozen rope to shortstop Matt Tolbert to end the game.   

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Liriano suffered through early jitters, issuing four of his six walks in the first four frames, including two in the fourth.  But the Twins' southpaw settled down as the night wore on, deftly utilizing his off-speed stuff to keep the White Sox' hitters off balance.  

Liriano, who entered the game with a 9.13 ERA, was reportedly in danger of being pulled from the Twins' rotation.  He silenced his critics with the no-hit performance, which was incidentally his first complete game in 95 career starts.  Tonight he became the first Major League pitcher to twirl a no-hitter since Roy Halladay's memorable playoff masterpiece against the Cincinnati Reds last October.  

After his historic night, Francisco Liriano had this to say:

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"I can't explain it. I feel so nervous and so happy right now. I can't explain my feeling right now."

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Although his breathtaking performance may have diminished his explanatory powers, the magical night will be one the Twins' number one won't soon forget.