Minnesota @ Detroit Preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 2, 2010 ) Detroit 10, Minnesota 9

Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander square off Friday having enjoyed similarly solid seasons.

The difference: Liriano enters the game hoping to round himself into post-season form, while Verlander is counting down the days to the offseason.

Two of the top pitchers in the American League do battle as the Minnesota Twins visit the division-rival Detroit Red Wings in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park. The Twins lead the season series 9-6, including victories in three of the last four head-to-head meetings.

For Liriano (14-8), the season has represented a return to form after a dreadful 2009 campaign that saw him go 5-13 with a 5.80 ERA, leaving the team and its fans wondering if ligament replacement surgery had turned the 26-year-old into a marginal major-league pitcher. He put those worries to rest by winning his first four decisions this season, then putting together an eight-game winning streak from mid-July to mid-September.

Liriano saw that streak snapped in his last outing, charged with five runs on seven hits over five innings in a 6-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. It was his first defeat since July 9 against the Tigers, when he was torched for seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

Liriano has a 4-3 career mark against Detroit, with a 4.74 ERA over 74 innings. He last faced them on Sept. 1, tossing seven shutout innings but settling for a no-decision in a game the Twins went on to win 2-1.

The sense of urgency has been lifted a little for Minnesota, which has already wrapped up the American League Central division title. Securing home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs is still one of the Twins' major aspirations, and they control their own fate in that regard with a half-game lead over the New York Yankees in the overall AL standings.

Minnesota built its lead in the standings by pounding the other teams in its division. The Twins are 46-20 against the Central this season, the best inter-divisional record of any team in the majors.

They'll look to continue that success against Verlander (17-8), whose season has mirrored that of his opponent in Friday's curtain raiser. Liriano has a slim edge in ERA (3.44 to 3.46), while Verlander leads in wins and strikeouts (198-191). Opponents are hitting better versus Liriano (.250-.231) but Verlander has issued more walks (69-56).

Yet, there will be no trip to the playoffs for Verlander and the Tigers, who couldn't get rolling after going 14-10 in April. They followed with a 12-14 May, bounced back with a 15-12 June and then went 11-15 in July and 13-6 in August to fall out of contention.

Through it all, Verlander remained Detroit's most consistent pitcher for the second season in a row. A year removed from winning 19 games, Verlander is on pace to do the same and is riding a personal four-game winning streak.

He last took on the Twins on Sept. 2, and was roughed up for six runs over six innings as the Tigers went on to win 10-9. He's 6-7 for his career against Minnesota, with a 4.02 ERA in 107 1/3 innings all-time.