FORT MYERS, Fla. — If there was anything unusual at stake during his start on Monday, Ricky Nolasco claimed not to notice.

The righthander gave up three runs, two of them earned, in five innings against the Class A Frederick Keys at Twins camp, throwing 84 pitches in his final chance to impress the decision-makers who must choose the team's fifth starter, either Nolasco or Tyler Duffey.

Does he think he earned the job?

"I'm not the right person to ask," Nolasco said afterward. "I'm just worrying about going out every fifth day when I've got to pick up the ball. Staying healthy, getting my work in — that's the only thing on my mind."

Pitching in front of Twins pitching coach Neil Allen and a handful of Twins executives, Nolasco looked sharp in his first two innings, striking out the side (around one double) in the first inning, and getting three quick ground balls in the second.

Against a 10-man lineup of Orioles farmhands, eight of whom batted left-handed, Nolasco then decided to emphasize his changeup — a move that cut down on his efficiency and let to some so-so results, including three runs.

"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."

"That changeup got better the more he used it," said catcher John Hicks. "He was bouncing them in the dirt, but by the end, he had it going."

Still, Nolasco allowed 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 just two outs, since Nolasco had thrown 27 pitches.

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