Duffey, Nolasco both fail to impress in final spring audition

BRADENTON, FLA. – Tyler Duffey and Ricky Nolasco pitched in separate games Monday in a showdown to determine who gets the final spot in the Twins starting rotation.

And both failed to impress.

Duffey gave up four earned runs over four innings in Bradenton against a Pirates team of backups and minor leaguers. Nolasco, pitching in Fort Myers against an Orioles farm team from Class A Frederick, gave up three runs, two earned, over five innings.

Now it's up to manager Paul Molitor, pitching coach Neil Allen and General Manager Terry Ryan to determine who makes the rotation. If it's Nolasco, Duffey is headed to the minors. If it's Duffey, Nolasco is headed to the bullpen.

"We'll talk," Molitor said. "I'll probably talk to Neil and I will talk with Terry and we'll try to have something settled here."

If there was anything unusual at stake, Nolasco claimed not to notice. He threw 84 pitches in his final chance to impress the decision-makers who must choose the team's fifth starter.

Does he think he earned the job?

Nolasco looked sharp in his first two innings. Against a 10-man lineup of Orioles farmhands, eight of whom batted lefthanded, Nolasco decided to emphasize his changeup — a move that cut down on his efficiency.

"I could have flipped up a bunch of breaking balls, but that's not going to do me much good," Nolasco said. "All those lefties kind of helped me. With all the [changeups] I was able to throw, I was fighting a little bit to the outside corner to lefties. In the last inning kind of cleaned that up a little bit, so it was good."

Still, Nolasco gave up a double in the fourth inning and a triple to the fence in right-center in the fifth, and both runners scored. He also gave up an unearned run in the third, on a single, stolen base and an error on first baseman Bryan Haar; that inning was called after only two outs, since Nolasco had thrown 27 pitches.

In all, the 33-year-old, still owed $25 million over the next two seasons, gave up five hits, three runs, two walks, five strikeouts, and a wild pitch.

Duffey had his own issues in Bradenton, where the Twins beat the Pirates 6-4 thanks to a three-run homer by Daniel Palka in the eighth.

Oswaldo Arcia's RBI double in the third put the Twins ahead again, but Joyce returned in the bottom of the inning and ripped a Duffey pitch to right-center for an RBI double that scored John Jaso to tie the score.

Michael Morse hit a leadoff double in the fourth, and Duffey issued one-out walks to Cole Figueroa and Chris Stewart. Duffey needed a big pitch to help his cause, but Danny Ortiz, a former Twins minor leaguer, grounded a two-run single up the middle to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead.

"It was the pitch I wanted, but where no one was at," Duffey said.

In four innings, Duffey gave up four runs, all earned, on four hits with three walks, two strikeouts and the one home run. Good enough to for a trip to Baltimore to open the season?

"Whatever is going to happen will be the best for everybody," Duffey said. "I haven't done myself any favors, I know that much. Whatever happens, happens."