Recap: Ian Anderson's struggles spoil big day from Grissom, Pillar in 10-7 loss
By Eric Cole
Vaughn Grissom had a very nice day at the plate and Kevin Pillar homered, but Ian Anderson struggled mightily in his first spring training appearance and the Atlanta Braves could go on to lose by the score of 10-7.
It was a tough first spring training outing for Ian Anderson as he gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, got two outs, then walked two straight batters before giving up a three-run bomb to put the Braves in an ealy deficit. Ian would not finish the inning as it was clear that his command wasn't there and he got his pitch count run up in a hurry. It is only an early spring training start so it is fair to not draw too many conclusions, but it is clear that he still has some work to do.
Ian would re-enter the game in the second (which yes, you can do in spring training) and didn't give up any more damage, but his line of 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, and 1 K was less than inspiring.
Vaughn Grissom had a good day at the plate as he recorded three hits including a double while driving in a pair of runs. Eli White had a hit, a walk, and a stolen base. Kevin Pillar, who is trying to win a roster spot, helped his cause with a two hit day including his first home run of the spring.
After some of the minor league depth guys made some token relief appearances that saw the Twins score a number of runs (Michael Tonkin's final line being the worst of the bunch), we did have a higher profile pitching prospect come into the game in the fourth inning in Jared Shuster. Shuster had himself a good outing with a pair of scoreless innings with a hit, a HBP, and bunch of zeroes.
The Braves made the game interesting late at least as it was 9-6 Twins in the seventh when Justin Dean singled, stole second, and promptly scored after a throwing error on the throw down to second to try and catch him. If you haven't watched Dean play, lets just say he is really, really fast.
Unfortunately, the Braves bullpen would give that run back on an RBI double in the the bottom of the eighth inning to make it a 10-7 Twins lead. All and all, not the Braves' pitching staff's finest effort on the day.
Down to their final three outs in the ninth, the Braves tried to get something going as Justin Dean got his second hit of the day with a one out single and Ryan Casteel got hit by a pitch with two outs, but Cal Conley grounded out to end the inning. At least he didn't get called for an automatic strike this time.