Former Giants pitcher Francisco Liriano tosses no-hitter

The first no-hitter of the 2011 season happened Tuesday night, as Minnesota Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0.

It was the fifth no-hitter in Twins history and the first since Eric Milton shut down the Anaheim Angels on Sept. 11, 1999.

Liriano, 27, signed with the San Francisco Giants as an international free agent in 2000. In 2003, he was traded along with pitchers Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser in exchange for catcher A. J. Pierzynski, a trade that most Giants fans rank near the top of the list of worst trades ever made by Giants GM Brian Sabean.

At the time, Sabean was quoted as saying, “It’s not often you can send a right-handed reliever (Nathan) and two unproven prospects (Liriano, Bonser) for a front-line, All-Star catcher (Pierzynski).” I guess we can officially say that Liriano is now proven.

Often compared to former teammate Johan Santana, another hard-throwing lefty, Liriano was touted as one of the “super-prospects” within the Minnesota Twins organization. In 2005, he led all minor league pitchers in strikeouts, with 204. He made his major league debut in relief on September 5, 2005, against the Texas Rangers.

Check out the reaction in the video below as teammates celebrate with Liriano following the last out.