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Lee hopes to continue strong start

Apr 18, 2008 - 1:01 PM Cleveland (6-10) at Minnesota (7-9) 8:10 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - Both Cliff Lee and Francisco Liriano saw their season wrecked by injuries in 2007. However, it has been the former's contribution that has kept the Cleveland Indians afloat during their slow start.

Lee targets his third win in as many starts on Friday when the Indians kickoff a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins.

Lee (2-0, 0.61 ERA) started last year on the disabled list with a strained abdominal muscle and endured a horrible season at 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA.

He's had no such issues this season though, as he has yielded just one earned run and six hits through 14 2/3 innings. The lefthander's last start was a eight-strikeout masterpiece in which he allowed a run and two hits over eight frames.

The Indians could use another strong start to continue the momentum they built with Thursday's 11-1 win over Detroit. Ryan Garko and Travis Hafner each belted home runs in support of Fausto Carmona, who tossed six-plus solid innings.

The Twins would like nothing more than to see a Lee-like outing from Liriano (0-1, 7.71 ERA), who will be making his second start after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery.

The lefthander showed his rust in a 5-1 loss to Kansas City on Sunday, allowing four runs on six hits with five walks over 4 2/3 innings.

While Minnesota knows it will take time, it hopes that Liriano will soon be able to recapture the form that made him one of baseball's most promising pitchers in 2006, when he went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 28 appearances - 16 starts.