Orioles option Austin Hays (O's lose 12-4)

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles optioned outfielder Austin Hays to Double-A Bowie before tonight's game against the Twins, leaving their camp roster at 34 players.

Craig Gentry appears to have made the club as a non-roster invitee.

Hays, 22, was stalled in camp due to a sore lat that required a cortisone injection and kept him out of the outfield for an extended stretch. He went 9-for-37 (.243) with two doubles, four RBIs and 12 strikeouts in 15 games.

One of the top prospects in the system, Hays was chosen as the organization's minor league Player of the Year in 2017 after batting a combined .329/.365/.593 with 32 doubles, five triples, 32 home runs and 95 RBIs in 128 games at Single-A Frederick and Bowie. He also was a finalist for Baseball America's Player of the Year award.

Hays made his major league debut in September and went 13-for-60 (.217) with three doubles, one home run, eight RBIs and 16 strikeouts.

Hays, who had four hits in his last 10 at-bats, including two doubles, sent out a tweet tonight that read: "Stay positive. Keep working."

Probably the message delivered to him this afternoon.

Gentry is 10-for-36 (.278) this spring with one double, one triple and one RBI in 14 games. The Orioles signed him to another minor league deal on Feb. 7 and he can back up at all three outfield spots and perhaps work in a platoon with Colby Rasmus in right.

The spot must open for Gentry on the 40-man roster.

The camp roster actually is down to 30 players with Zach Britton, Gabriel Ynoa, Mark Trumbo and Alex Cobb still counted. Britton is on the 60-day disabled list, Ynoa and Trumbo will go on the 10-day DL and Cobb will be optioned and kept at extended spring training.

Five more cuts must be made to get down to 25. The deadline is noon Thursday.

Shortstop Ehire Adrianza homered on Chris Tillman's fourth pitch tonight to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. Tillman induced three other fly balls and threw 10 of his 13 pitches for strikes.

Leadoff hitter Chris Davis doubled to right field off left-hander Gabriel Moya in the bottom of the first and was tagged out on a fielder's choice grounder from Manny Machado. Trey Mancini singled with two outs and Danny Valencia walked to load the bases, but Anthony Santander struck out looking.

Update: Tillman threw 35 pitches in the second inning while the Twins sent 11 batters to the plate and scored five runs to lead 6-0.

Tillman allowed five hits, walked two batters, struck out three and threw a wild pitch.

Update II: Gentry walked against right-hander Tyler Kinley, stole second base and scored on Caleb Joseph's double, and Machado delivered an RBI single to reduce the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the second inning.

Update III: Colby Rasmus came off the bench in the fifth inning and doubled with two outs, and he scored on Valencia's single to reduce the lead to 6-3.

Tillman has retired 10 of the last 11 batters he has faced. He's allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings, with two walks, three strikeouts, a home run and a wild pitch.

Update IV: Joseph doubled in the sixth and scored on an error with two outs to reduce the lead to 6-4.

Tillman retired the only batter he faced in the top of the sixth on one pitch, his 92nd of the night. Sixty were strikes.

Update V: The Twins homered twice off Mychal Givens in the eighth, totaling four unearned runs after Luis Sardiñas' throwing error. Twins 10, Orioles 4.

Update VI: Pedro Araujo served up a two-run homer to Williams Astrudillo in the ninth. Final score, Twins 12, Orioles 4.