SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 22nd of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games. Twins also played one World Baseball Classic exhibition against Team Dominican Republic March 9. After today, five more games will be played at Hammond Stadium and five more games will be played on the road. The Twins made the trek to Bradenton today for a tilt against the Pittsburgh Pirates and return home tomorrow to take on the Atlanta Braves at Hammond Stadium. The end of Spring Training is coming fast. Just 12 days until Opening Day.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Twins fell to the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, yesterday afternoon at Hammond Stadium. Tyler Mahle made the start and took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits (3 HR) with two walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Kyle Farmer went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs, including going back-to-back with Michael A. Taylor in the second inning. Taylor’s was his first homer of spring and he finished the afternoon 1-for-3. Danny Coulombe (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) and Oliver Ortega (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) each recorded scoreless outings in relief.
The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have optioned outfielder Matt Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul and reassigned infielder Brooks Lee to minor league camp. The Twins now have 52 active players in camp (18 non-roster): 26 pitchers (7 non-roster), six catchers (4 non-roster), nine infielders (3 non-roster) and 11 outfielders (4 non-roster), plus two players on the 60-day Injured List.
WBC TV Viewership: The March 10 Japan vs. Korea game on TBS at the Tokyo Dome registered a 44.4 rating, the most-watched game in the history of the World Baseball Classic in any country until the March 16 quarterfinal game vs. Italy registered a 48.0; that game out-rated all sports competitions during the Tokyo Olympics.