FORT MYERS, FLA. – Righthander Justin Haley warmed up before Sunday's game against the Red Sox in familiar surroundings.
The Twins selected Haley in the Rule 5 draft from Boston's organization, so he spent part of Sunday visiting with former teammates and staff. His roommate this spring is righthander Austin Maddox, a Red Sox farmhand.
"I know a lot of guys out there, a lot of friendly faces," Haley said. "It's good to come back and see everybody. There's a lot of great guys in this organization, and I was glad to be a part of it."
Now he's trying to stick with the Twins, who have to keep him on the 25-man roster all season or offer him back to the Red Sox. Haley's line Sunday during a 13-8 victory over Boston wasn't impressive. He gave up four earned runs on five hits and one walk in two innings of work. Hanley Ramirez homered off him in the first. A run scored during a slick double steal in the second. He was removed after giving up consecutive singles to start the third, and both runners scored.
Haley's fastball was measured at 87-91 miles per hour. He did strike out four batters, including three in the second. So there was some good mixed in with the bad, which Haley is going to embrace.
"I pitched a lot better than my linescore showed," Haley said. "I just went out there and had fun, tried to compete."
It was tough for most pitchers to put up a solid line Sunday, as the Twins and Red Sox did what they have done all spring: Fill up the boxscore.
Boston led 6-3 through three innings when the Twins scored five runs in the fourth, including a two-run triple by Drew Stubbs and a two-run single by J.B. Shuck. It was 9-7 in the seventh when the Twins added four more runs.
