Spring Training Report: Game Twenty-Six

All of a sudden, the Twins can't buy a win . . . or a good performance by a starting pitcher. Here are the notes on today's 10-2 loss to the Phillies in Clearwater:

1.) Ramon Ortiz finally had the kind of outing that many Twins fans have been expecting him to have . . . in other words, not good. He went 4.1 innings, giving up 6 ER's on 9 hits. On the plus side, he didn't walk anybody and he struck out 5. This isn't what the Twins were hoping to see, however, with Carlos Silva self-destructing and Sidney Ponson yet to have a very good outing in a Grapefruit League game. Ortiz is safe, but let's hope his last start of the Spring is better than this one.

2.) Matt Garza knew coming into today's game that he was going to relieve Ramon Ortiz, and that a good outing could put him in the driver's seat for Carlos Silva's spot in the rotation. He was solid today, but probably not solid enough to win the job unless Silva is terrible in his last spring start on Thursday. Garza went 3 innings, giving up 1 ER on 4 hits and a walk. Three perfect innings might well have won him the job; today's performance just keeps him in line in case Carlos struggles.

3.) Rondell White hit a solo shot in the 2nd inning, and Luis Castillo (!) hit one in the 3rd. That was, sadly, the extent of the Twins runs, as hits in general were hard to come by today.

4.) Luis Rodriguez got a chance to start at short today with Jason Bartlett hurting. So far, I haven't heard any major complaints about his performance there, so that should make the Twins feel a little more comfortable about the idea of taking him north as the backup middle infielder.

5.) The Josh Rabe v. Matt LeCroy throwdown for position players who could make the roster out of camp continued today, with Rabe going 1-for-3 and LeCroy going 0-for-1 in a pinch hitting appearance. Rabe seems to have passed LeCroy in that regard, but I still expect Mike Venafro or J.D. Durbin to win the 25th roster spot.

6.) Steve Tolleson, Matt Tolbert, Brandon Roberts, Trent Oeltjen, Gil Velazquez, and Jose Morales all got a chance to travel with the big squad rather than spend the day in minor league camp. Trent Oeltjen went 1-for-2, the only minor leaguer to get a hit in today's game.

Today's Big Winner: Matt Garza (stayin' alive)
Runner-Up: Rondell White (1-for-2 with a nice homerun)

Today's Big Loser: Ramon Ortiz (maybe turning into a pumpkin?)
Runner-Up: Matt LeCroy (running out of time to impress)