FORT MYERS, Fla. – Francisco Liriano struck out five of the nine batters he faced in the Minnesota Twins' 1-0 loss to a Tampa Bay Rays split squad on Thursday.
Liriano, whose no-hitter against the White Sox last May was overshadowed by injuries inconsistency the rest of the year, gave up just one hit in three speedy innings.
The 23-year-old prospect Chris Archer got the start for the Rays and give up one hit and a pair of walks in two scoreless innings.
Denard Span continued to look good as he recovers from an injury-marred season for the Twins, belting a single to open the game and adding two stolen bases. Rays leadoff counterpart Desmond Jennings notched hits on his first two at-bats to lead the Rays.
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