Francisco Liriano entered Tuesday’s series opener between the Twins and the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field with a 9.13 ERA. The left-hander exited with a 1-0 victory and the 13th no-hitter thrown against the White Sox in franchise history. Liriano’s effort marks the first no-hitter thrown against the White Sox since Bret Saberhagen did the job on Aug. 26, 1991, during a 7-0 victory for the Royals. Four of the last five no-hitters hurled against the White Sox have taken place during night games. Minnesota didn’t exactly light up White Sox starter Edwin Jackson over eight innings, knocking out just six hits. The game’s lone run scored with one out in the fourth, when Jason Kubel, the lone Minnesota starter batting over .290, lofted a 1-2 pitch over the right-field wall.

It was an unlikely no-no, as Liriano struggled with his control, walking six, but the White Sox simply couldn’t muster a hit against him on a chilly night at U.S. Cellular Field. It marked the first no-hitter for the Twins since Sept. 11, 1999, when Eric Milton tossed one against the Angels at the Metrodome. Liriano nearly lost the no-no with two outs in the sixth inning, when Carlos Quentin hit a hard ground ball down the third-base line, but Danny Valencia made a great play and retired Quentin on the long throw from foul territory. Liriano also received some good fortune in the eighth inning, as Gordon Beckham grounded into an inning-ending double-play but appeared safe, as the throw from second baseman Alexi Casilla was offline. The Twins scored their lone run in the fourth inning on a shot from Jason Kubel on a 1-2 slider from right-hander Edwin Jackson that caught too much of the plate. The home run was Kubel’s third of the season.

ALERT! ALERT! Bulls point guard Derrick Rose named 2011 MVP! Rose’s press conference can be found at csnchicago.com/sports/bulls. Congrats D. Rose! Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau also named Coach of the Year! Congrats coach Thibs!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Twins NO HIT White Sox! Francisco Liriano threw the 6th no-hitter in Twins history tonight at US Cellular Field! Liriano beat Edwin Jackson to win the game 1-0. The Sox $56 million man Adam Dunn lined out with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th with Juan Pierre running from 1st base. Pierre reached base on one of Liriano’s 6 walks. Liriano’s command was sparratic tonight but he came through and was mostly ahead in the count on his way to his first career shutout and complete game. Congrats to Liriano on this rare feat and 1st no-hitter of 2011!

The Bears are extremely pleased with first round draft pick Gabe Carimi and second round pick Stephen Paea. Carimi was raised in Madison Wisconsin and his family is a bunch of Packers fans. He vows that he will convert his whole family. Offensive line coach Mike Tice’s son Chris was briefly Carimi’s teamate at Wisconsin so their families are close. Says Mike Tice, ” We’ll work on converting his family to Bearism. They have to forget about all that Cheesehead stuff is their son’s playing for the Chicago Bears.” One of the first questions the media asked the new offensive lineman was about being a Packers fan. Carimi had only this to say, “”I was growing up, but I’ve had my errors in my way. I’ve sinned and repented, so I’m good now. I’ve seen the light.” That sounds like me when it comes to my Cubs allegiance when talking about switching from a Sox fan to a diehard Cubs fan!

Adam Dunn went hitless again on Friday, something that’s happened in six of his last eight games. That dropped his season average to .155, but things might be ready to perk up for Chicago’s high-priced slugger. Dunn reached base once against the Orioles, drawing a second-inning walk and scoring a run. Dunn is spending his first season in the American League and his first campaign as a full-time designated hitter. He filled the spot occasionally in Interleague games when playing for Cincinnati, Arizona and Washington in the National League. In a small sample size, Dunn has hit better in his career when playing in the field. He’s a career .249/.379/.518 hitter (average/on-base/slugging), but those numbers drop to .208/.368/.415 in 38 games as a designated hitter. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen decided to give Dunn a start at first base on Saturday in an effort to jump-start the slugger’s season. “We’ll try everything,” said Guillen. “We’ll see what happens. He’s been a lot better. He’s not too far away from clicking. I don’t worry about him because we know what we’re going to get from him.” Dunn entered the day hitting .123 (7-for-57) in 16 games since returning from an appendectomy. He says the procedure has had no impact on his current performance. “It’s perfectly fine now,” Dunn said.

The struggles continued for the White Sox in a 6-2 loss to the Orioles. Adam Dunn started at first tonight in an attempt to get his bat going. Paul Konerko was the DH. The loss was Chicago’s 14th in its last 17 games, a stretch during which the White Sox have averaged just 2.4 runs per game. The White Sox end April with a franchise worst 18 losses. Lucky for them, this cruel month comes to an end and the Sox hope to pick themselves up in May. “It’s not early anymore,” says pitcher John Danks who is now 0-4 but only has a 3.38 ERA. He has been solid all season but has also been a victim of lack of run support. The Sox have only scored 6 runs in Danks’s first 8 outings of the season.