Twins 4, Rays 2: Phil Hughes pitches five scoreless innings

It was a happy St. Partick’s Day for the Twins!

Jorge Polanco and Brian Dozier both hit dingers in today’s completely un-broadcasted Twins win over the Rays. In fact, Polanco’s solo-shot in the second inning and Dozier’s three-run blast in the third inning accounted for all the Twins runs in the game.

Phil Hughes started the game for the Twins and had his best outing of the spring so far, giving up zero home runs let alone regular runs in his five innings of work. His fastball was around 88 to 90 mph, which isn’t super zippy, but got the job done. All the Rays mustered against Hughes were two hits and a walk, with no more than one base runner allowed in a single inning.

J.T. Chargois relieved Hughes, and had a bit of a rough day, giving up a solo-shot to young Rays prospect Jake Bauers. The Rays also tagged Chargois for a second run, which was technically unearned—except it was caused by Chargois’s own throwing error, so....

The Rays also apparently cannot figure out Buddy Boshers, who put in yet another perfect inning of work for the Twins. Boshers also pitched a perfect inning against the Rays on February 24th, and his last outing on March 13th.

Alex Wimmers pitched the bottom of the ninth inning and was a little shaky, allowing two straight walks, but ultimately preserved the Twins win.