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(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Season Record: 13-13

Next Up: Detroit (6:05 CT, 5/5)

1. Everything Starts Somewhere

Francisco Liriano hasn't been terrible, but he has been far from The Franchise that everybody has come to know. Inconsistency has been key for the young lefty; he's had a few solid outings, but following them up with short, high scoring games hasn't given anybody much to get excited about.

Heading into his first May start, Liriano was 0-4 on the season in five starts. Over the course of the five outings, Liriano had allowed four runs, five runs, one run, seven runs and two runs. The outings ranged drastically, and Liriano had still yet to earn a victory.

A new month has given Liriano a clean slate, and a recent good outing against the Tampa Bay Rays gave Liriano a chance to follow it up, for the first time this season, with a second strong outing. Seven innings, nine strikeouts and only two earned runs helped Liriano do just that, and he has now put forth back-to-back solid outings to earn a much coveted first win.

2. Hitters Coming Around

Justin Morneau, Denard Span, and Jason Kubel were three keys to the Twins' offense through the first month of the season, but in recent days more hitters have come out of the shell and emerged as possible keys to the remainder of the season. 

One of those players in Michael Cuddyer. After missing most of the '08 season following a large and fresh new contract, Cuddyer returned this season with the hopes of living up to his deal and once again becoming a big part of the lineup. Through April that didn't happen as Cuddyer struggled to reach base and hit for a low .200 average.

As with some of the other players, May has brought new life. Cuddyer hit well over the weekend and put up much better at-bats overall. Cuddyer is 7-14 thus far in four games during May, and he's walked three times, hit a homerun, and driven in six. Doing it consistently is the next step, but it seems as though Cuddyer might finally be coming around.

3. Guerrier, Mijares, and Crain?

The bullpen is somewhat in shambles, and difficult-to-trust. The Twins have several talented arms, but for whatever reason, the bullpen has been inconsistent and at times just flat out terrible. Breslow has struggled with control and Dickey has struggled to keep hitters from hammering the ball around the field.

Meanwhile, the struggles of Matt Guerrier from last season to this point are well documented, and Jesse Crain has yet to return to his glory days. In the recent week however, Guerrier has been lights out along with the young lefty, Jose Mijares. If Jesse Crain returns from his disabled list stint still throwing at or around 95 MPH as he was doing before, the Twins have a chance to finally have some stability in the 'pen - well, if they can maintain their skills consistently.