Red Sox Beat Twins 4-2 In Spring Training Finale

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — John Farrell is trying to figure out how to get Felix Doubront to start an outing as well as he finishes it.

Doubront pitched six-hit ball for five scoreless innings Saturday, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 in the spring training finale for both teams.

“Better as the outing went along,” Farrell said. “We’ve seen it more than a couple of times this spring. He gets into that third inning and seems to get into a much better rhythm, a much better feel for his secondary stuff, and just overall more efficient. So as we’ve talked a number of times, the efficiency is something we continue to strive towards. But we can’t force it either. And throughout the course of the outing as we’ve seen, better touch and feel for his stuff.”

Doubront had runners on base in every inning but the fourth.

“My goal is to throw less pitches or get a double play,” he said. “I try to stay calm and make good pitches. If I have to strike somebody out, I can do that.”

Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey gave up four runs and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings.

“Today we wanted to work on my slider and I think I got beat on it a lot,” Pelfrey said. “I think that is my fourth-best pitch and I probably and gave up four, five hits on it. Not a great day for them but I guess it’s a reason why it is my fourth-best pitch.”

The Twins finished spring training with a record of 17-16.

“I think we have 25 guys who believe in each other, but it’s going to come down to starting pitching,” Pelfrey said. “If we keep them in the ballgame we are going to win a lot. You win on pitching and defense. I like our chances.”

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