FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins smacked back-to-back homers 12 times last season. Might as well practice that in spring training, too.
Nelson Cruz launched an opposite-field home run in the sixth inning, and last year's fourth-round pick, outfielder Seth Gray, followed with a blast onto the left field berm Wednesday. But Philadelphia rallied with three runs over the final two innings to hand the Twins their first loss of the spring, 5-4 in a split-squad game at Hammond Stadium.
A younger Twins team beat the Rays 10-8 in Port Charlotte.
In the split-squad loss, Jake Odorizzi allowed two hits and a run in his two-inning Grapefruit League debut, and Sergio Romo allowed a run on a two-out single by Jean Segura. But the Twins built a 4-2 lead thanks to Alex Kirilloff's RBI single and a force-play RBI by Jack Reinheimer in the fifth inning and the back-to-back homers an inning later.
The Phillies, though, rallied against Twins bullpen prospect Jake Reed, who allowed two singles and a triple, all with two outs, in the eighth inning. And in the ninth, Philadelphia infield prospect Arquimedes Gamboa lined a home run to center field off Class A righthander Brandon Koch, who once pitched for Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson at Dallas Baptist University.
Phil Miller
