Twins day at camp: May running out of chances to start

March 13, 2016 at 2:08AM
Twins righthander Trevor May
Twins righthander Trevor May (Brian Wicker — Associated Press file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

With just over two weeks of games behind them to evaluate what they have, the Twins might be ready to make some decisions.

After Trevor May was up and down on Saturday during a 8-1 loss to Baltimore, Twins manager Paul Molitor suggested it may be time to determine whether to continue to build up May's arm strength as a starter or scale him back to being a reliever.

''It's getting near that point,'' Molitor said. ''We're going to take a look at how these starters do in the next couple of days and kind of re-evaluate, heading into the off day, how we want to proceed.''

The off day is Tuesday. The Hammond Stadium clubhouse should be less congested by then, as the Twins are expected to announce cuts Sunday, a number that could reach the double digits.

Molitor also said he's getting closer to naming his Opening Day starter. So a lot of things could happen over the next few days.

The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first on Carlos Quentin's RBI single, but the Orioles jumped May in the bottom of the inning and pulled away for their first win of spring training. Manny Machado scored on a wild pitch and Mark Trumbo delivered a two-run single to put Baltimore ahead 3-1. Machado followed with an RBI double in the second.

May struck out three over 2 2/3 innings but gave up four hits and three earned runs. He wasn't happy with the results but liked his off-speed pitches and how he battled.

''This is a team full of good hitters,'' May said. ''If you miss by too much, bad things are going to happen.''

Hughes stays home

Righthander Phil Hughes was scheduled to face Baltimore on Saturday but the Twins decided to have him remain at Fort Myers.

Twins manager Paul Molitor pointed out that the Twins and Orioles are scheduled to meet six times this spring, with Hughes likely facing them three times. So May got the start instead of Hughes.

Santana's wrist sore

Danny Santana is day-to-day because of inflammation in his left wrist. He injured the wrist swinging in the batting cage. The Twins hope he can return Wednesday.

On deck

Righthander Ricky Nolasco will make his third start of the spring as the Twins play host to Baltimore. The game will be on Fox Sports North.

LA VELLE E. NEAL III

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