On Saturday evening, the middle game of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays, Francisco Liriano and David Price, were the starting pitchers for their respective teams. Price picked up his first regular season win in the game after throwing 108 pitches in five and two-thirds innings, while Liriano dropped to 2-7 and his ERA increased to 6.60 in the 5-2 victory for the Rays. Early in the season, a number of reporters and bloggers were surprised that David Price, the 2007 number one draft choice from Vanderbilt, was being sent down to Durham for more minor league work. Jayson Stark of ESPN was one who offered some observations in Believe it or not, Price headed to minors. Although his spring performance included a 1.08 ERA, Stark reviewed Tampa Bays reasoning and argued that the move was not done for financial reasons because the terms of Prices initial six-year deal protected the Rays. However, when looking closer at the terms of Prices $8,500,000 contract, it appears that he has the right to void the annual salary in the original deal and file for arbitration in any year where he reaches arbitration-eligibility.

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