Spring Training

[catman]

As well as the bats worked yesterday, they didn't work at all today. The Twins were shut out by the Jays 3-0 getting only 4 hits and striking out 17 times. Tyler Mahle threw 4.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks to take the loss.
Elliot Soto was 3/3 with a stolen base today and is still in the mix to start the season as the Twins' 2B.

[catman]

Today, the Twins beat the Yankees 6-4, scoring 4 runs in the top of the 9th. Emmanuel Rodriguez was 2/4 with a 3-run homer in the 9th. Edouard Julien homered and nearly hit another, getting thrown out at 2nd on a fine play by Aaron Judge in left.
Pablo Lopez started the game giving up 2 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks and 2 Ks in 3 innings. Kenta Maeda pitched 5 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, 3 walks and 5 Ks in 5 innings to pick up the win. Michael Boyle walked 2 and allowed no hits or runs in the bottom of the 9th to pick up the save.

[catman]

Today, the Twins dropped a pair of games to the Braves by identical 9-4 scores. One was played at Hammond Field and the other at the Braves Complex.
At Hammond Field, Larnach and Miranda each homered (numbers 4 and 5 respectively) and the Twins only managed to get 7 hits against the Braves pitching. Bailey Ober threw 4 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Jose DeLeon gave up 6 runs on 6 hits in 0.2 innings to take the loss. Both pitchers allowed a pair of homers.
In the game at Cool Today Park, Kyle Garlick was 2/4 with a homer, 2 runs scored and 2 driven in. Mark Contreras was 2/3 with a double and 2 driven in. Aaron Sanchez gave up 7 runs on 8 hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks in 3 innings to take the loss.

[catman]

Today, the Twins beat the Red Sox 7-2 in Chris Sale's last spring training start. Sale allowed a couple of runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks in 5 innings for the Sox. Sonny Gray started the game for the Twins and struck out 4 in 3 perfect innings. Jose Bravo came in with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 5th inning and struck out the man he faced to pick up the win. Jorge Alcala gave up a hit and walked 2 in 2 innings with a couple of Ks. Duran struck out 1 in a clean inning. Connor Sadzeck came over from the minor league side to finish the game with a clean 9th.
Jeffers, Willi Castro and Hernan Perez each hit 2-run homers for the Twins today.
The Twins finish Spring Training with a home and home series against the Pirates Monday and Tuesday and then come North to start the season Thursday.

[catman]

Twins took a 9-4 decision from the Pirates today with Joe Ryan allowing no runs on 3 hits and 4 Ks in 3.1 innings to pick up the win. Hernan Perez hit a 3-run homer and Donovan Solano hit a 2-run homer to pace the offense. Kepler and Miranda stayed hot going 2/4 and 3/4 respectively. Edouard Julien continued to open eyes going 2/3.
The pitchers are looking pretty good late in spring training. Hopefully, this will be an on-going trend.

[catman]

The Twins finished up spring training with a nice comeback win today. Mahle started the game and gave up a run on 1 hit and 3 Ks in 4 innings, and left with a lead. The Pirates came back with 4 in the 6th inning and the Twins scored 4 in the 8th to win the game. Seth Gray, a utility infielder who is probably best at 2B, hit a 3-run homer to seal the win.
Correa ended up the spring with a .296 average and Miranda, Kepler, Larnach and Farmer finished over .300. The pitchers looked good this spring as well. Looks promising coming North.