"The Twins pulled Francisco Liriano from Friday's start because he was sick. They pulled Carl Pavano from Saturday's start because he was getting shelled.

Two games into the series, Detroit has scored 21 runs. Not exactly what the Twins had hoped to see from their projected starters for Games 1 and 2 of the division series.

Handed a five-run lead in the first inning, Pavano put the Twins behind when he gave up three home runs in the fourth.

The Twins regained the lead with another five-run inning in the fifth, but Detroit came back again, finally winning 11-10 in the 13th on Brandon Inge's RBI single off Randy Flores.

"I got a five-spot in the first inning; how many times do you get that?" Pavano said. "I go out and give it up -- that's embarrassing."

The Twins had hoped that giving Pavano extra rest between starts would help him regain his sharpness, but it had the opposite effect. Making his first start since Sept. 16, he allowed seven runs on 11 hits in four innings.

The good news is Liriano felt much better one day after leaving his start in the fourth inning because of flu symptoms. Liriano ran the steps at Comerica Park as part of his usual day-after-start routine.

Liriano's final regular-season tuneup comes Thursday against Toronto, and Pavano will follow on Friday. After that, they'll pitch Oct. 6-7, likely against the Yankees or Rays."