Cardinals 3, Twins 2: The Hits Keep on Not Coming

Yeah, it's only the second week of March. But early in spring training, positive signs have been hard to come by for this offense.

Today at Hammond Stadium, the Twins snapped a string of 27 consecutive scoreless innings, but did so without a run-scoring hit. Their two runs both came on bases-loaded walks. The latter took place with two outs in the ninth inning, drawing the Twins within a run of the Cardinals before Rene Tosoni grounded out to second on the first pitch of the next at-bat to end the game.

Aye, aye, aye.

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The Twins, who haven't collected an extra-base hit since last weekend, continue to look stagnant at the plate. Only one player finished with multiple hits on Friday, and it was Wilkin Ramirez, a non-roster invitee who singled in his two plate appearances after relieving Brian Dinkelman in left field.

On the pitching side, Jason Marquis got the start for the Twins and allowed one run over three innings. Certainly an improvement over his first outing, but with only 20 of his 39 pitches going for strikes, he's leaving plenty to be desired in the control department.

Glen Perkins struck out two in a perfect fourth inning – his first appearance since signing a new three-year deal – while Matt Capps was tagged with the loss after giving up a home run to Rafael Furcal in the fifth, though he also induced a pair of swinging strikeouts.

The Twins' record in Grapefruit League play now sits at 3-5.