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.
Alex Kirilloff, Willi Castro provide pop; Twins lose to Cardinals
Chris Paddack was charged with two of the Cardinals’ four third-inning runs on Tuesday.
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.
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.
The team has agreed in principle to extending its lease through 2059 if the Legislature signs off on continuing the sales tax that built Target Field.