Tommy Milone trying to win the open spot in starting rotation

BRADENTON, FLA. – Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson were expected to be part of the Twins starting rotation before camp began. Then Twins manager Paul Molitor said this week that Tyler Duffey can pretty much be counted on for the rotation as well.

Who hasn't received that designation? The guy on the mound Friday who gave up a run over two innings.

"I'm very used to it," lefthander Tommy Milone said. "It is not ideal, but it is what it is."

His role undefined at the moment, Milone finds himself in another spring battle to win a job in a rotation. His quest began Friday in a game with Pittsburgh that ended in a 2-2 tie after nine innings and the Twins out of pitchers.

Milone gave up the one earned run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Josh Harrison led off the first with a single then stole second. Gregory Polanco hit a blooper to center that Max Kepler dived for but just missed for a single. With runners on first and third, Milone struck out Andrew McCutchen and John Ryan Murphy threw out Polanco trying to steal second. Milone was a pitch away from getting out of the inning, but Starling Marte tripled off the wall in right-center — Kepler nearly pulled off a leaping catch there — to score Harrison.

"He got in trouble early, but with the help of the strike 'em out-throw 'em out he had a chance to get out of there," Molitor said. "That was the only run we gave up until the ninth inning. He came back and had a better second inning for sure. He threw it over. He challenged guys when he needed to."

RBI singles by Kennys Vargas in the fourth and Carlos Quentin in the ninth gave the Twins a 2-1 lead before the Pirates tied the score in the bottom of the ninth off Mason Melotakis.

This season Ricky Nolasco, Jose Berrios and Trevor May loom as rivals for the final spot in the rotation. Molitor has said that he would prefer May in the bullpen, but the righthander will be stretched out to be a starter until a final decision is made.

Milone, 29, was 9-5 with a 3.92 ERA last season in 24 games with the Twins (23 starts). He spent a month at Class AAA Rochester and also spent time on the disabled list because of an elbow strain. But he showed he can roll through a lineup when he is hitting his spots. While being lefthanded would give the Twins a different look considering all the other starters are righties, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said Milone has something more important going for him.

"I would say he's got a little edge because he's got a bit more of a résumé," Ryan said. "Left or right, I don't see where it is that big of a difference there. There are teams that have gone five righthanders and there are teams that have gone four lefthanders. You put your quality out there more so than just left or right.

"When he was healthy last year, he was pretty decent."

Milone is out to prove he belongs in a rotation that has a chance to be a solid one. While some pitchers have the job security to work on spotting fastballs or perfecting secondary pitches in camp, Milone is fine with having to win a job.