Spring Training Report: Slowey sharp in Twins’ 8-1 win
Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey was dominant on the mound Tuesday, and looked pretty good as a batter, too.
Slowey pitched five effective innings and helped his cause with two hits and three RBI, leading the Minnesota Twins to an 8-1 win over the Florida Marlins.
“It was pretty comedic to them that I walk up there and swing and the ball finds the grass somewhere,” Slowey said after going 2-for-2 with a double.
Slowey, who allowed a run and two hits while striking out five, had a bases-loaded single in the first inning off right-hander Chris Volstad and then ripped a double to left in the third to score two more runs.
Slowey, the Twins’ No. 3 starter, was most happy about throwing 48 of his 66 pitches for strikes. He has allowed just one walk in 14 1/3 innings this spring.
Volstad had his roughest outing of the spring, allowing four runs – three earned – in four innings. He also walked three batters after walking just two in 18 innings coming in.
Dan Uggla homered for the Marlins, his fourth this spring.
Marlins Ballpark: The buzz in the Marlins’ clubhouse was about opening day in 2012.
That’s when the team’s new ballpark with a retractable roof is scheduled to open following approval of the project Monday night by the Miami-Dade County Commission.
“I’m so happy for the Marlins,” All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez said. “They’ve been after it for a long time, and finally they got it. The ballpark will bring a lot of fans, and that’s what we need.”
Ramirez is the only Florida player under contract through 2012. Teammates hope the new ballpark will prompt management to offer more multiyear deals.
“Everybody hopes to get a deal like that so they know exactly what’s in store for the future,” pitcher Josh Johnson said. “They can stay here and buy a house down here. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
There was a buzz about the ballpark in Miami, too. The attendance-challenged Marlins said they sold 15,000 single-game tickets Tuesday, about five times more than a normal day.
Team president David Samson met all day with architects and said groundbreaking will be in July. Regarding the possibility of more multiyear contracts, Samson was noncommittal.
“The last thing we want to do is saddle ourselves with many, many long-term contracts that will get in the way potentially of our competitiveness,” he said. “Having said that, having a higher payroll certainly enables you more flexibility on either long-term deals or just higher short-term deals.”
The Marlins perennially rank at or near the bottom of the majors in attendance and payroll.
In 2008 the Marlins’ payroll was $22 million, by far the lowest in the majors. The median was $80 million.
Astros 8, Mets 0: LaTroy Hawkins picked up where he left off. The middle reliever returned from the World Baseball Classic to pitch a scoreless inning and start a double play in Houston’s win over the New York Mets.
New catcher Ivan Rodriguez homered for the Astros in their fifth straight victory.
Hawkins was 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA in 21 innings over Houston’s final 24 games last season.
Cooper expected Hawkins, along with starting pitcher Roy Oswalt, to get some work in beginning Friday, with Hawkins throwing light bullpen sessions until then, but the right-hander arrived in Kissimmee ready to pitch, so Cooper put him in.