Twins offense one and done, again

Justin Verlander must be licking his chops, knowing he will face the punchless Twins on Saturday with a chance for his 20th victory of the season.

Friday's 8-1 loss to the Tigers gave the Twins their fifth six-game losing streak of the season, with all of the losses in the latest streak coming at home.

During this skid, which included one game against the Yankees and four against the Orioles, the Twins have yet to score two runs. Here are the scores: 3-0, 4-1, 8-1, 6-1, 6-1 and 8-1.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's the first time since 1909 that the Senators/Twins franchise has failed to score two runs throughout a six-game, home losing streak.

"We've had chances, that's the thing," first baseman Justin Morneau said. "I think when the floodgates open, it's going to be a lot of fun, but we've just gotta simplify it. Instead of trying to get everybody in, we've gotta make sure we get one guy in. When we get a runner on third with less than two outs, we've gotta make sure we get that ball to the outfield in the air."

The Twins had seven baserunners against Rick Porcello (12-8) through the first three innings but scored only one run.

Detroit grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third inning when second baseman Matt Tolbert played a potential double-play grounder by Delmon Young into an RBI single.

"We're not getting it done, let's just put it that way," said Ron Gardenhire, who saw the Twins fall to 21 games under .500 for the first time during his 10 seasons as manager.

Mauer's neck improving Joe Mauer was not in the lineup for the second consecutive game because of a stiff neck. The injury happened Wednesday, when, while playing first base, he ran into right field chasing a pop fly.

He woke up in pain Thursday but felt better Friday after visiting a physical therapist. He took 30-40 swings in the batting cage and was available to play in an emergency, with the team's only other catcher, Drew Butera, making his sixth consecutive start.

Gardenhire downplayed the need to summon a catcher from the minors because Mauer's neck seemed to be improving.

Liriano update Lefthander Francisco Liriano's magnetic resonance imaging exam showed inflammation in the back of his strained left shoulder, similar to what he had earlier in the season, but nothing more serious. The Twins plan to clear him to throw as soon as his shoulder feels ready.

The lefthander is 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 132 innings.

Nishioka scratched Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who hasn't been in the starting lineup for the past seven games because of a strained oblique muscle, was scratched from Friday's start after Gardenhire noticed he was having trouble throwing during a pregame workout.

Nishioka said he was at about 80 or 90 percent and would have played had Gardenhire not told him to wait.