Ty France had two more hits on Saturday — a double and home run — to lift his average to .550 and help the Twins edge the Boston Red Sox, 9-8. Overall, he is slashing .550/.591/1.641 with 11 hits, two home runs and eight RBI.
The only question for France is whether any of this production will carry over to the regular season or will he revert to the player who struck out 24.4 percent of the time in 2024?
In the win, France had two hits in three at bats, scored two runs and drove in four more. Top prospect Luke Keaschall also went deep and Christian Vazquez contributed two hits and drove in a run.
On the mound, Chris Paddack looked good until a line drive in the area of his head forced him from the game. Watching the replay, it appears he got his glove up in time so that the ball did not make direct contact with his noggin. He did not suffer a concussion, according to MLB.com.
Before he exited, Paddack struck out two over two-plus innings on 27 pitches. Reliever Cole Sands struck out the side in the fifth on 17 pitches.
-Reliever Justin Topa also had to exit stage left after seven pitches in his last appearance on Wednesday. He is dealing with right shoulder tightness. All of this is just a reminder of a trade that has gone completely sideways for the Twins. The details don’t matter.
Extra innings…
-A couple of old guys are doing OK this spring. Forty-two-year-old Justin Verlander, now with the Giants, picked up the win on Thursday in a 7-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox. He allowed a run on four hits across four innings with four whiffs.
The other old dude was 40-year-old Max Scherzer, now with the Blue Jays, who struck out six across three-plus innings in a 5-0 win over the Detroit Tigers.
-Terry Francona’s Cincinnati Reds also won 9-8 over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. Helping their cause was former Twins prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand who homered and singled, scored a run and drove in two runs.