Minnesota Twins defeats Boston Red Sox 6-5 in B-squad game – MLB Spring Training
Minnesota Twins are looking in great shape ahead of 2012 regular season. In a B-Squad game against Boston Red Sox, the Twins displayed some high quality baseball skills. Rallying past the Red Sox in an extremely competitive game at the Hammond Stadium Field, the Twins showed they are prepared for the upcoming season. Boston Red Sox had their chances during the contest but they were unable to convert some easy scoring opportunities, which led to their downfall.
The final score line of 6-5 is a bit misleading though as the game was not played in the best of spirit. The umpires did not bother to show up until the end of third inning. To get things going, Twins' coach Steve Liddle performed umpiring duties, calling balls and the strikes.
One of the groundskeepers was also called in to serve as the field umpire. There were also plenty of umpiring errors in the game. The Twins batted into the ninth inning despite leading the score. The sixth inning was called off after only two outs after Twins’ right handed reliever Carlos Gutierrez grounded the game to a stop.
"First time out, maybe he's a little nervous, but he's better than that," Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's been pitching at the high levels here, and he's got to do a little better than that. He's got to pick up the pace of the game and throw the ball over. He throws the heck out of the ball."
"Gutierrez was misfiring, didn't make any adjustments," Gardenhire said. "Velocity's good, but you've got to make adjustments; you've got to step back and throw the ball over the plate. He stopped the game; I think we all saw that, and that's what we don't want."
There were only a small group of fans present at the Sports Complex, who cheered every run scored by both teams. Gutierrez produced decent performances last season at Class AAA Rochester. With 2-3 win-loss record and 4.62 ERA in 43 appearances, he still has a lot to prove before making his Major League Baseball debut. The 25-year-old will be looking to bring more improvement in his closing skills to secure a place on Twins’ big League roster.
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