Twins pitcher, Jose Berrios, made his spring debut on Wednesday and looked every bit like the veteran pitcher he has become by striking out three over two innings, and exiting the game with a 1-0 lead.
And then everything went quickly downhill from there. The next three Twins pitchers did a fantastic job of impersonating Cape Canaveral because they were blasted for 12 earned runs.
Alex Colome, most likely the Twins closer this season, served up three doubles and a home run. Glenn Sparkman followed Colome and gave up a single, home run and walked three batters, then Chandler Shepherd had the unenviable task of entering the game with the bases loaded. He wasn’t up to the job either after he allowed three singles and a double to make it 12-1, Red Sox.
Twins pitcher Andrew Albers also gave up two runs on three hits to give the Sox a 14-6 victory.
The #MNTwins had a nightmare pitching in the top of the 4th:
1B
2-R HR
BB
BB
BB#PitchingChange from Sparkman to Chandler Shepherd
1B
1B
1B
2B
Swinging K
Twins decide to end inning (ST Rules)8 runs scored.#MNTwins 1, #RedSox 12 | B4#MNTwinsST
— Robb Dahlen (@TwinsTakes_com) March 3, 2021
The only good news for the Twins was that they hit three home runs. Ageless wonder, Nelson Cruz, didn’t miss a beat and hit a three-run home run, waiver wire pickup, Kyle Garlick, hit another bomb, and there was more encouraging play from catcher, Mitch Garver, because he, too, hit his first home run of spring.
Twins relief wasn’t entirely bad. Cody Stashak pitched a scoreless frame and Ian Hamilton did the same.
Extra innings…
-The Twins fall to 2-2 this spring.
-Kenta Maeda makes his spring debut on Thursday.