Flaherty leaves game after HBP (O's lose 10-9)

ORIOLES QUICK WRAP

Score: Twins 10, Orioles 9

Recap: The Twins hit for the home run cycle today - solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam. Bud Norris turned in his longest outing of the spring, going four innings and allowing three runs and five hits, with one walk, one strikeout and two home runs. He permitted seven runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 innings in his first two starts. Chris Davis hit his third home run of the spring in the first inning and his second in two days. Trevor Plouffe homered off Norris in the second to tie the game 1-1 and Eduardo Nunez homered in the fourth after Eddie Rosario's two-out triple. Kennys Vargas hit a three-run homer off Tommy Hunter in the fifth and Eduardo Escobar had a grand slam off T.J. McFarland in the sixth. Matt Wieters caught six innings and the Twins didn't attempt a steal. Steve Clevenger and Dariel Alvarez had RBI grounders in the seventh and Jimmy Paredes added a two-run triple. Clevenger added a two-run double in the eighth.

Need to know: Ryan Flaherty was hit on the helmet by a Brian Duensing pitch leading off the bottom of the sixth. He stayed on his feet, but came out of the game. Wieters went 0-for-3 and is 0-for-23 in Grapefruit League games. Paredes is 11-for-23 with nine RBIs this spring. Umpires ruled that he hit a three-run homer in the seventh before reversing the call and sending him back to third. Paredes committed a fielding error in the eighth. Davis' last two home runs have been hit to the opposite field. Again, that's an encouraging sign. Nolan Reimold had a single, stolen base and run scored in the eighth. Norris threw 55 pitches, 31 for strikes. Hunter hadn't allowed a run or hit in five spring innings, including two against Puerto Rico. Attendance: 7,615 at Ed Smith Stadium, the seventh sellout of the spring.

On deck: Wednesday at Twins in Fort Myers, 1:05 p.m.
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SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles second baseman Ryan Flaherty left today's game in the bottom of the sixth inning after being hit on the batting helmet by a pitch from Twins reliever Brian Duensing.

Flaherty stayed on his feet and walked slowly to first base, with head athletic trainer Richie Bancells and manager Buck Showalter in pursuit. Flaherty headed to the dugout and later walked to the clubhouse with athletic trainer Patrick Wesley.

Duensing's pitch was the first of the inning and it came with the Orioles trailing 10-1. Jayson Nix pinch-ran for Flaherty and raced to third base on Alejandro De Aza's double, and both runners scored on J.J. Hardy's single.

Flaherty struck out looking in his first at-bat. He also made a nice play to retire Kennys Vargas in the first and strand two runners, ranging far to his left to field the ball and record the out.

Flaherty, competing for a utility job, is 3-for-19 this spring.

I'll provide an update on Flaherty after the game.

Matt Wieters went 0-for-3 today and is 0-for-23 in Grapefruit League games. He caught six innings before Steve Clevenger replaced him, and the Twins didn't attempt a stolen base.

They preferred the longball.

The Twins have homered for the cycle, hitting a solo homer and two-run shot off Bud Norris, a three-run shot off Tommy Hunter and a grand slam off T.J. McFarland.

Update: The Orioles reduced the Twins' lead to 10-5 in the seventh on RBI grounders by Clevenger and Dariel Alvarez following singles by Travis Snider, David Lough and Nix.

The Twins replaced Mark Hamburger with two outs, flipping him for another pitcher.

Sorry.

The Orioles weren't done. Jimmy Paredes followed with a two-run triple to right field to leave the Orioles trailing 10-7. Paredes is 10-for-22 with nine RBIs this spring.

Umpires initially ruled a home run before sending Paredes back to third, where he had initially stopped, and bringing Showalter out of the dugout. The ball bounced back onto the field and umpires awarded Paredes a triple.

Update II: Clevenger had a two-run double in the eighth to reduce the Twins' lead to 10-9.

Nolan Reimold singled and stole second base. Nix reached on an error and Clevenger lined a ball into left-center field.