With another 7 1/3 strong innings on Sunday, Minnesota Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano made his best case yet for a recall from Triple-A Rochester. The key number in the start was zero walks, which was a first for this season as he attempts to come back from 2006 Tommy John surgery.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire clearly recognized what Liriano was was up to in Rochester, even before Sunday’s dominant outing against Reds Triple-A affiliate Louisville. Read more »

The Boston Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-0 Sunday, but they did it without Manny Ramirez, who missed a second straight game due to ongoing hamstring discomfort. The Sox have not struggled to score runs without David Ortiz or Ramirez in the lineup, but any lingering injury, and especially a hamstring injury, does raise concerns over the long-term health of both aging sluggers.

Hamstring injuries have not been uncommon among high-profile players and fantasy producers this season. However, the injuries that have occurred are more detrimental to a players’ fielding and baserunning, two aspects of the game admittedly, and visibly, unimportant to Manny Ramirez.  Read more »

After last year’s World Series performance, it’s hard to imagine that Jacoby Ellsbury is still considered a rookie, but he must be because the 24-year-old outfielder set a Red Sox rookie record with 2 stolen bases Sunday. In addition to the thefts which raised his total to a league-leading 33, he went 3-for-5 with 1 RBI and 2 runs in Boston’s 9-0 win over Cincinnati.

With injuries to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the Red Sox will need production from somewhere else in the lineup to continue averaging 5.1 runs a game. He has hit .297 over the past 10 games and has scored at least 1 run in 9 of those games. He has also added some power to his game, clubbing 5 home runs so far this season after hitting only 10 in a 5 year minor league career. Read more »