JUPITER, Fla. — Tyler Duffey has already pitched three times this spring, but today is a little different. He’ll be on the mound at the start of the game, instead of relieving Hector Santiago.
Does starting the game, rather than the third or fourth inning make a difference?
“I don’t know,” manager Paul Molitor said. “He’s been mixed in, but now a chance to start a game — I would be looking forward to it if I was in his position.”
That position is: One of as many as a half-dozen candidates for the final spot in the Twins’ rotation. Duffey probably isn’t the favorite to grab that spot when camp is over, and his messy six-run outing in Port Charlotte last week didn’t help. But there are still more than six weeks remaining in spring training, so he’s not being counted out, either.
“I hope he can build off his last outing,” Molitor said, “which was pretty good.”
Duffey pitched two innings against the Nationals on Sunday, and allowed only one hit. He hasn’t walked anyone yet, another good sign.
He’ll have an interesting Twins lineup around him, with roughly half the regulars being assigned to ride the bus across Alligator Alley this morning. And today is notable for one other detail, too: It could be the first professional game featuring both Gordon brothers. Dee Gordon, the Marlins’ all-star second baseman, will lead off for Miami, and his younger brother Nick is in uniform for the Twins, though as an extra player who isn’t currently scheduled to play.
Today’s game is not being televised, but there is plenty to read in today’s paper. I wrote about the unexpected request that Twins infield candidate Bengie Gonzalez acceded to upon being drafted: The right-handed hitter was told to try it left handed. And Ervin Santana made his four-inning start on Thursday look easy, as he often does. And Sid Hartman talked to Brian Dozier about putting the winter’s trade rumors behind him.
Here are the lineups for today’s noon CT game:
TWINS
Buxton CF
Stubbs DH
Grossman LF
Park 1B
Kepler RF
Polanco SS
Escobar 3B
Murphy C
Field 2B
Duffey RHP
MARLINS
Gordon 2B
Suzuki DH
Realmuto C
Bour 1B
Ozuna RF
Dietrich LF
Rojas 3B
den Dekker CF
Hechavarria SS
Chen LHP
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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts.
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
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