Twins’ Simeon Woods Richardson impresses yet again against a loaded spring lineup

NORTH PORT, FLA. – Simeon Woods Richardson is emphatically allaying any doubts about whether he should remain in the Twins starting rotation.

In four outings, the righthander has pitched 11 innings in Grapefruit League play this spring, three of them against playoff teams. The results: one earned run (on a solo home run), nine hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.

“It just shows the everyday work that we put in. As both parties, me as a player and the organization, come together, you get better every day,” the 24-year-old said. “Yes, I am pretty happy about that. We’re still figuring out stuff along the way, and that’s the fun part.”

He had the Braves figured out on Saturday during a 4-0 victory. Facing a lineup littered with five All-Stars, Woods Richardson didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning, when Austin Riley led off with a double to right-center. But Woods Richardson simply struck out Matt Olson, retired Marcell Ozuna on a routine fly ball and ended the inning by getting Ozzie Albies to ground out to first base.

“It was fun to kind of play around with [my mechanics] today, just working on stuff,” Woods Richardson said. “Just keeping my hands tighter and closer to the body. I’m still tinkering with [my arm slot], making sure it’s comfortable. It’s not set in stone yet, the muscle memory, so we’re still working on it.”

Brock Stewart was in the process of striking out Jarred Kelenic to start the sixth inning Saturday when “I just felt a little pull” behind his left knee.

“The inside part of my knee, low hamstring, high calf area,” Stewart said after the game. “I can’t really pinpoint it because it doesn’t really bother me right now.”

After Stewart got Riley to pop up, manager Rocco Baldelli and assistant trainer Masa Abe jogged to the mound to see why he was stretching his leg.

“He thought it was fine and something he could pitch with. It wasn’t hampering him too much,” Baldelli said. But given Stewart’s history — he’s undergone Tommy John surgery and shoulder surgery during his career, and has pitched only 43 innings in two injury-filled seasons with the Twins — Baldelli took no chances, and Stewart was removed.

All tests afterward showed no serious injury, Stewart said, though he will be re-examined on Sunday.

“My arm feels great. Honestly, ever since I got down to Florida, it’s taken a turn for the better,” Stewart said. “My arm, my shoulder feels great. Just felt a little pull, and it was tender after that.”

Saturday night marked the end of an unusual stretch of Grapefruit League games for the Twins, and Baldelli is happy to see it over with. In four days since Wednesday, the Twins played five games (including split-squads), four of them at night.

Night games are disruptive to players used to sticking to rigid routines — like showing up at Hammond Stadium at 8 a.m. for the past five weeks. But teams mix in an occasional night game in order to hold special promotions, like the Twins’ fireworks nights.

At least the night games have mostly been confined to this week, Baldelli said. Only one remains: Thursday against Boston, and it’s a home game.

“I’d rather have them in some sort of progression than have them scattered around, because they cause more issues when they’re scattered. This works out better for us,” Baldelli said. “You knock them out and then you get back into your routine as we get to the end of camp.”

The Twins play 16 day games in March and April, Baldelli pointed out, including eight of their first nine, making the early morning pattern more useful. The team has already had a clubhouse meeting with sleep specialists this spring, in hopes of keeping the players well-rested once the games count.

“If we’re going night-day-night-day, it causes problems. It’s hard to accomplish much, because then we have messed-up mornings after the night games,” Baldelli said. “Glad to put the split-squad games behind us, too.”

A team of Twins prospects bused more than two hours Saturday morning in order to play a squad of Blue Jays prospects in Dunedin.

The bus ride may have been the highlight. The Twins managed only four hits, all singles, and were shut out by Toronto 10-0 in the annual Spring Breakout rookie-showcase game at TD Ballpark.

Luke Keaschall, who has spent all spring in big-league camp despite having yet to play above Class AA, led off the game with a single, but was caught stealing moments later. Catcher Diego Cartaya, who appeared in eight Twins spring games before being optioned to the minors, also singled in two at-bats.

The game featured the first professional appearance by the Blue Jays’ first-round pick last summer, righthander Trey Yesavage.