The Twins rode a three run seventh and withstood a late rally to beat the Pirates 5 to 4. With the win, the Twins evened their Grapefruit record to 15 and 15. It was a game punctuated by errors on both sides that allowed runs to score.
It was an all-around good effort at the plate for the Twins. Michael Cuddyer drove in a run in the third and Delmon Young launched a solo home run in the fourth. The team rallied to tack three runs on the board in the seventh off of Pirates closer Matt Capps. All three were unearned, due to an error by Pittsburgh center fielder Edward Garcia.
In his final spring work, Kevin Slowey was decent, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and no walks while making three Pirates whiff over three innings. However, the best pitching came from the 6 relievers who combined to hold the Pirates scoreless until Danny Vais gave up two unearned runs in the ninth and still managed to get the save.
The Twins now turn their attention to Opening Day on Monday against the Angels, and will send Livan Hernandez to face Jered Weaver. The game is also anticipated because of the return of Torii Hunter to Minnesota, which is sure to make it an emotional game for the team, its fans and Hunter.
