MINNEAPOLIS, April 15 (UPI) -- Francisco Liriano and two relievers combined for a six-hit shutout Thursday in the Minnesota Twins' 8-0 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
Liriano (1-0) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out eight over seven innings before Jose Mijares and Roy Mahay each pitched a scoreless inning for the Twins.
The pitching effort was backed up with a 15-hit attack that spread run-scoring rallies over four innings and beat Tim Wakefield (0-1), who gave up 10 hits and six runs -- five earned -- in 5 1/3 innings.
Minnesota got its first run in the second inning on J.J. Hardy's two-out RBI single. The Twins went up 4-0 in the fifth when Denard Span doubled in one run, Justin Morneau added a run-scoring single and Michael Cuddyer contributed a sacrifice fly.
The Twins had two-run rallies in each of the next two innings with Span doubling in the runs in the sixth and Cuddyer chipping in a two-run home in the seventh, making the score 8-0.
