Twins place Francisco Liriano on the 15-day DL

Per Phil Mackey of ESPN1500.com, the Minnesota Twins have placed starter Francisco Liriano on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

After a horrible start to the season (1-4 record and 9.13 ERA in April), Liriano pitched well in three of his four starts in May.

Liriano, who was scratched from his start on Saturday, posted a 2-1 record with an ERA of 2.52 in his four starts in the month of May.

The move is retroactive to May 23rd since Liriano last pitched on the 22nd and the team has recalled righthander Anthony Salama from Triple-A.

Through May 29 games, the Twins have the highest ERA (4.77) while scoring the fewest runs (175) in all of baseball.

Not only do the Twins have the worst record (17-35) in the majors, but every team in the American League has at least six more wins than the Twins.

Francisco Liriano hurls no-hitter vs. White Sox

There was quite a bit of pressure of Twins starter Francisco Liriano entering last night's start against the White Sox.

Before last night's game, Liriano posted a record of 1-4 with an ERA of 9.13 and 18 walks in 23 2/3 innings pitched and the team had the fewest wins (nine) in all of baseball.

Liriano's spot in the rotation was on the line as manager Ron Gardenhire had said last week, "That's kind of why we're working on [Kevin] Slowey, getting him stretched out, in case we decide after this next start whether we're going to do something or not."

And, boy, did he deliver by throwing the franchise's first no-hitter since 1999 and the fifth in team history.

"I'm pretty excited," Liriano said, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. "I can't explain myself right now. I'm very happy, very excited. I had a rough start to the season, so it's very exciting."

Liriano was helped out by some nice plays in the field and he walked six batters, but his no-no should help restore his confidence, as pitching coach Rick Anderson notes.

"I'm excited as can be about the no-hitter, but I'm even more excited the confidence is there," Anderson said. "I can't wait for the next start. And that's what he needed -- confidence. Hopefully, this is a confidence thing, and it's something we all need to get our strut and our swagger back. I think we all needed that. And that's a big step."

Francisco Liriano may only have one more chance (start) to keep spot in rotation

Things haven't gone well for Twins starter Francisco Liriano (and his fantasy owners) this year.

And depending on how his next scheduled start on Tuesday goes, it could get worse, much worse.

"There's times when he looks totally dominant and he'll go an inning or two like that, but then he just kind of starts misfiring, and I think once we get ahead he just kind of backs away a little bit. So, if it's a confidence thing, then we've got to really work hard to get it there, but if not, we're going to have to make a decision and see where we go from there," manager Ron Gardenhire said, per Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.

"That's kind of why we're working on [Kevin] Slowey, getting him stretched out, in case we decide after this next start whether we're going to do something or not."

Slowey, who eligible to return from the disabled list, will make one more rehab start to help get him ready to take over Liriano's spot in the rotation, if necessary.

In his five starts, Liriano is 1-4 with an ERA of 9.13 and 18 walks in 23 2/3 innings pitched.

Francisco Liriano to start -- not close

Minnesota Twins starter Francisco Liriano will be just that -- a starter.

To be specific, Liriano will be the team's fifth starter, per Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

With closer Joe Nathan out for the season after having Tommy John surgery, there was some talk about the potential for Liriano to close. Instead, the team will employ a closer-by-committee approach to save opportunities.

Liriano, who has pitched well in winter ball and spring training, threw six shutout innings today and is a guy you should target late in mixed-league drafts.