Hughes has first rough spring start vs. Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Jimmy Rollins homered and Kyle Kendrick tossed six solid innings as the Phillies beat the Twins, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at Bright House Field.

Kendrick, making his first Grapefruit League start since March 6, held the Twins to one run on five hits. The right-hander struck out six and issued just one walk. He will likely have one more Spring Training outing this week and will start the third game of the regular season, April 2 in Texas.

The Phillies scored three runs on five hits in the third inning off Minnesota starter Phil Hughes. Former Twins outfielder Ben Revere led off with a single, stole second and then scored on a single by Rollins. Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz also added run-scoring singles.

Rollins padded the lead in the fifth with a leadoff homer to right, the shortstop's second homer in as many games and his third of the spring.

"He's had very good at-bats and good plays in the field," said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg. "I see that up and down the lineup the last couple days, too. The guys are swinging the bats better. It's a good sign and good timing."

Domonic Brown, playing in his second game since missing a week with the flu, ripped a pair of doubles to right. The outfielder entered Sunday with only one extra-base hit this spring. Brown's double down the right-field line in his first at-bat was his first hit since March 14, and his second double nearly cleared the fence for a home run.

Hughes, who signed with the Twins as a free agent in December, had his first rough outing of the spring. The right-hander was charged with five runs on nine hits, striking out three against one walk. In his first three Grapefruit League starts, Hughes posted a 1.04 ERA over 8 2/3 innings.

"I had an 80-something pitch count today, but I obviously would've liked to do it spread out over more innings," Hughes said. "I felt like I was in and out of my mechanics. I was a little inconsistent and missed some spots." 

The Twins scratched across a run in the sixth. Alex Presley led off with a pinch-hit single and Brian Dozier followed with a double, and Josmil Pinto plated Presley with a grounder to short.

Dozier also doubled in the fourth, and he was robbed of a hit in the first on a nice play by Rollins to grab a liner.

Up Next: Right-hander Mike Pelfrey is set to make his fourth Grapefruit League appearance on Monday against the Rays in a 12:05 p.m. CT start at Hammond Stadium. Pelfrey, who went 3 1/3 innings his last time out, has a 2.53 ERA this spring. Right-hander Chris Archer starts for Tampa Bay.