Alex Kirilloff, Willi Castro provide pop; Twins lose to Cardinals

JUPITER, FLA. — Alex Kirilloff hit the first pitch of Tuesday’s game, a knee-high fastball on the outside corner, over the left field wall, an opposite-field home run that gave the Twins a quick lead over the Cardinals.

But it didn’t last. Paul Goldschmidt, the Cardinals’ second hitter in the bottom of the inning, rifled a Chris Paddack fastball over the wall in deep left-center to tie the score, and St. Louis racked up four runs in the third inning, then held on for a 5-4 victory at Roger Dean Stadium.

The loss was the Twins’ fifth in six Grapefruit League road games this spring.

BOXSCORE: St. Louis 5, Twins 4

Paddack was charged with two of the third-inning runs, but only one scored while he was in the game. Burnsville native Aaron Rozek, a lefthander who pitched at Class AA Wichita last summer, allowed two hits and two walks in relief of Paddack, including an RBI single by Jordan Walker and Dylan Carlson’s two-run double.

Willi Castro continued his hot spring, reaching base when Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera mishandled his bunt — Castro later scored on Jose Miranda’s two-out single — and then tripling to deep right in the sixth inning.