Liriano a piece in pennant puzzle

After rehabilitating/rotting in Triple-A for a while, Francisco Liriano returned from the disabled list in resounding fashion as the Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 6-2 on Sunday.

And while the Chicago White Sox were getting blown out and picking fights with the also-ran Royals, the Twins passed Chicago for first place in the American League Central.

A lot has been made of the Tampa Bay Rays’ sudden rise to first place in the AL East – and after sweeping Detroit, they’re still there - but little attention has been paid to the Twins, who weren’t expected to even remotely contend in the Central. But on Aug. 4, they lead the White Sox by a half-game and the fading Tigers by seven.

Check out the standings: If the season ended Aug. 3, the AL playoffs would consist of the Angels, Rays, Twins and Red Sox, and in that order. Who saw that coming?

Both the White Sox (Ken Griffey Jr.) and Tigers (Kyle Farnsworth) attempted to plug some holes this week, but those moves might not mean anything, writes Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press.

And Liriano, who was 10-2 in Triple-A, could be a big piece for Minnesota if he returns to any semblance of his 2006 form, when he was an American League All-Star.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire isn’t ready to proclaim that the man who should be his ace is going to be a savior down the stretch for his squad of relative unknowns (other than Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau).

“Triple-A baseball’s different than here,” Gardenhire told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “There’s a few veteran hitters, but a lot of guys swing, swing, swing. As we go along, we’re going to see some veteran teams that don’t swing. They’re going to take pitches, and those are going to be challenges for him to throw more pitches over the plate.”