James McDonald simply imploded in the fourth, surrendering seven runs to the Twins and sealing the fate of his Pirates. Brian Dinkelmand and Brian Dozer did most of the damage today, each of them blasting a two-run homer; Dinkelman drove in four runs, Dozier three on the day. They, along with Angel Morales, provided the punch for today's offense by combining for eight hits.

Morales is the latest in the "preview" series of players, as the Twins have shunted other minor leaguers in and out of games in recent days. He had a good day, picking up a pair of hits (including a double) and a pair of walks. It will be interesting to see how well Morales can bounce back in 2012, because he has some daunting power potential. Daniel Santana also made an appearance today, going 2-for-5 with a walk. Not a bad day for the new guys!

Every Minnesota pitcher allowed a run this afternoon, although Alex Burnett's run wasn't earned. On the plus side, Casey Fien struck out three over two innings and Jared Burton kept the damage to a minimum.

Studs

Dinkelman
Dozier
Morales
Maloney
Fien

Duds

Nobody was truly awful this afternoon...hooray!