The Liriano reset

Francisco Liriano threw 88 pitches in
six innings Wednesday, 51 of them
strikes. That's a ratio that works for him.

On the face of it, Francisco Liriano's start Wednesday validates the approach the Twins used to "fix" him.

He went six shutout innings, allowed three hits, struck out nine, walked two. He's back, right?

Well, maybe. The thing is, he was pitching against Oakland, and the A's entered the game with a .212 batting average. That's not a misprint; the team is hitting .212. It's like they're replaying 1968.

The batting averages for the A's lineup Wednesday are appalling:

.215
.245
.266
.220
.141
.208
.198
.178
.200

The A's didn't use a pinch hitter, presumably because the options on the bench weren't any better.

So I'll wait a bit to declare Liriano back on track. Shutting down Oakland doesn't necessarily mean much.