"Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano told the club Sunday that his shoulder feels better after missing Saturday's start because of some soreness. But the big test will come Tuesday in Detroit.

That's when Liriano is scheduled to throw in the bullpen. If that session goes well and he reports no problems the next day, he will start Thursday in Kansas City.

If Liriano has any issues, Anthony Swarzak would start and Liriano could land on the disabled list.

"He feels better, and that's a good thing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It sounds like he'll be able to go out there and throw. But if it comes up that he's having issues out there [the DL] would be something we would [consider]. Back him off and give him a couple of weeks to regroup."

Liriano, 3-5 with a 5.73 ERA, came down with shoulder soreness last week, prompting the Twins to use Swarzak on Saturday. They are convinced the injury is minor, and a precautionary MRI exam confirmed that.

"He seemed to think he was going to be OK," Gardenhire said."