PORT CHARLOTTE, FLA. -- Vance Worley got the pitch right where he wanted it. With an 0-2 count on Luke Scott, the Twins' righthander tailed a sinking fastball in on Scott's hands.
"It did what it was supposed to," Worley said. "It backed [Scott] up."
Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay designated hitter also dropped the barrel of his bat and made good contact with the ball. It lifted high in the air to deep right, where right fielder Joe Benson made a leaping attempt to keep it from carrying over the fence.
He came awfully close.
"He jumped up, [showed] pretty good ability to try and catch it," manager Ron Gardenhire said after the Twins rallied for a 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay. "He was over the fence."
So was the ball, however, Scott's first home run of the spring and one of four extra-base hits Worley allowed.
"I didn't think it was going to cary that far. The sound of the bat fooled me -- I was like, 'Man he got a lot of that one.' But the way he swung, he was kind of falling backward. No way he got that one," Worley said. "Somehow he got it. I tip my cap to him. He won't get that pitch again."
Despite the long hits, the righthander limited the damage by forcing a pair of double plays, and Gardenhire said it was an encouraging outing.
