"Hours after Scott Baker's right elbow ended his night after five innings, Francisco Liriano's inability to rein himself in ended his day after 4-1/3. On Tuesday, Minnesota's bullpen was able to hold on despite Baker's early exit. Wednesday did not go so well.

Liriano gave up five runs on six hits during his brief outing, but after he left the Twins climbed back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the score in the seventh. That tie didn't hold long, as Alex Burnett, after using just one pitch to get the final out of the Rays' seventh, gave up four runs on four hits and one walk in the eighth inning of the Twins' 12-5 loss at Target Field.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has lamented Burnett's seeming ability to pitch all or part of one inning with great success only to melt down when he returns to the mound after the Twins hit, but Burnett - who had seven straight scoreless outings before his breakdown Wednesday - said he doesn't feel that's an issue for him.

"For me I don't think that was the case," he said. "I don't think that's a hard thing to do."

Liriano, on the other hand, knew what his issues were, and that, he said, was what made them all the more frustrating.

The left-hander said he can feel when he is overthrowing, when his arm and his body are out of sync. He knows when he's trying to be too perfect, when he starts trying to throw harder to compensate for otherwise imperfect pitches. He just can't always figure out how to stop himself. "