McPherson, Snider show well as Bucs fall to Twins

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Justin Morneau's three-run double proved to be the biggest hit of the game, as the Twins won their first Grapefruit League game of the spring, 5-4, over the Pirates on Monday at Hammond Stadium.

Morneau laced a bases-clearing double to left-center field off of Pirates right-hander Jeanmar Gomez in the fourth inning, after Jamey Carroll singled and both Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham walked with nobody out. Morneau later came around to score on an RBI single from Brian Dozier off of right-hander Brooks Brown.

The four-run inning for Minnesota came after right-hander Vance Worley tossed two scoreless frames in his Twins debut. Worley, who was acquired in the trade that sent Ben Revere to the Phillies, gave up two hits and struck out one.

"I had command of everything I threw out there," Worley said. "But I didn't throw any changeups or split-fingers out there. I threw only two-seam, four-seam fastballs, cutters and curveballs. I had pretty good command on both sides of the plate, so I'll take it."

Pirates right-hander Kyle McPherson, rated as the club's No. 7 prospect according to MLB.com, also fared well. He threw two scoreless innings and gave up just one hit in his spring debut.

The Pirates got on the board in the third inning on a sacrifice fly from Travis Snider off right-hander Alex Burnett to score Anderson Hernandez, who led off the frame with a single.

They added another run in the fourth against right-hander Casey Fien on an RBI single from Felix Pie with two outs. Pittsburgh scored again in the fifth, when Snider brought home another run with his second sacrifice fly of the game.

The Pirates tied it up in the seventh on a solo blast from Jose Tabata off right-hander Esmerling Vasquez with two outs. The lead would be short-lived however, as non-roster invitee Chris Colabello -- who entered the game in place of Morneau at first base -- drove in Brandon Boggs with an RBI double in the eighth off of Pittsburgh's Kris Johnson.

Pirates up next: No. 2 starter Wandy Rodriguez makes his first start of the spring, as the Bucs host the Orioles in a 1:05 p.m. ET game at McKechnie Field, the first of seven Grapefruit League meetings between the two teams. The left-hander will have some tough acts to follow: Pittsburgh starters (Jeff Locke, James McDonald and Kyle McPherson) have allowed just one hit in seven innings through three games.