Minnesota Twins defeat Atlanta Braves 2-0 – MLB Update
The Minnesota Twins put in a tremendous effort as they beat Atlanta Braves 2-0 in their Grapefruit League match-up at Turner Field, Atlanta on March 30.
It seems pitchers have gained their momentum with opening day just a day away. At least it is true for the American League’s Minnesota Twins and National League’s Atlanta Braves as their hurlers showed a tremendous display in front of big audience.
Braves’ starter Brandon Beachy tossed four scoreless innings and struck-out five in a low scoring loss to the Twins. Right-handed pitcher Beachy having a 1-0 record with a 1.13 ERA repeated the same impressive performance he shown in earlier games. The 24-year-old
new comer in roaster has thrown 51 strike-out pitches out of 73 and ended the game with 0.90 ERA.
While talking about Beachy, who defeated Mike Minor and Rodrigo Lopez for the fifth spot in the rotation, manager Fredi Gonzalez said, "He's got good command of all his pitches and throws them for strikes. He does everything well, from holding runners to
fielding his position to handling the bat."
Fortune did not help Lopez as he could not retain his ace in the eighth inning and tossed three loose balls that went for two runs. Lopez has been scheduled to play in Triple-A Gwinnett.
The day proved to be in favour of the pitchers as Twins’ hurler Scott Baker making his sixth and final start in spring exhibition pitched five scoreless innings. Right-handed pitcher, who added four more strike-outs making it 20 in spring exhibition, tossed
83 pitches and ended the game with 2.66 ERA.
"Even though you're just going out there and you're working on certain things you might not necessarily do in a normal game circumstance, it still feels good to go out there and get some decent results," Baker said after the game.
Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, Carlos Gutierrez and Andrew Baldwin restricted batters from making any run in their one-inning spells. Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire was pleased with his pitchers and stated that both teams rely on their pitchers.
The game was tied until the eighth inning but the Twins made their mark with Jason Kubel’s double on a line drive to right-fielder Cory Harrilchak that allowed Jason Repko to score. Brian Dinkelman accompanied Jason with his line drive again to Cory that
made Jason earn a single that proved the second and the winning run of game.
The Twins played a good game and managed to beat Atlanta and gain some confidence and momentum before the regular season begins.
With opening day to start on Thursday, the Twins will rest and come into action on Friday, April 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays for three consecutive games.
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