By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
With just two dozen days remaining until Opening Day in Atlanta, Georgia, the Philadelphia Phillies (3-8) will look to build off of Sunday’s 4-2 win in a Monday matinee against the Minnesota Twins (4-5-2) and right-hander Kyle Gibson at Spectrum Field.
Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana and non-roster invitee second baseman Scott Kingery each collected a pair of hits on Sunday — the first of the spring for Santana — while non-roster invitee outfielder Danny Ortiz produced the game-winning run in the eighth with a go-ahead RBI-single against 12-year veteran southpaw Craig Breslow. Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out two and scattering two hits.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Minnesota Twins (4-5-2) | Philadelphia Phillies (3-8) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Kyle Gibson | RHP | Vince Velasquez | ||
| (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | (0-1, 16.20 ERA) | ||||
Gibson, 30, retired all six batters he faced in his Sunday, Feb. 25 spring debut against the Tampa Bay Rays. The five-year veteran lost his arbitration case 10 days prior, resulting in his 2018 salary to be $4.2 million instead of his requested $4.55 million.
The Greenfield, Indiana native was originally drafted by the Phillies out of high school in the 36th round of the 2006 amateur draft. Gibson chose to attend the University of Missouri Columbia instead and was later selected 22nd overall in the first round of the 2009 amateur draft by the Twins.
Through 127 career starts, Gibson is 44-48 with a 4.70 ERA and 506-257 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 730 1/3 innings.
Velasquez, 25, did not fare nearly as successful as Gibson in his Feb. 28 spring debut against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin. Failing to get through the second inning, the right-hander surrendered three runs — all earned — on two hits and a walk. Velasquez struck out shortstop Yangervis Solarte and designated hitter Russell Martin in the losing decision.
Starting Lineups:
| Minnesota Twins (4-5-2) | Philadelphia Phillies (3-8) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Zack Granite | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 3B | Ehire Adrianza | S | 2 | DH | Carlos Santana | S |
| 3 | LF | Robbie Grossman | S | 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 4 | 1B | Kennys Vargas | S | 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | RF | Chris Heisey* | R | 5 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L |
| 6 | 2B | Erick Aybar* | S | 6 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 7 | SS | Nick Gordon* | L | 7 | C | Andrew Knapp | S |
| 8 | C | Bobby Wilson* | R | 8 | RF | Dylan Cozens | L |
| 9 | DH | LaMonte Wade* | L | 9 | CF | Roman Quinn | S |
* non-roster invitee
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP+, MLBN
- Radio: N/A
Game Notes:
- Monday’s meeting with the Twins will be the first of two games between both clubs this spring, the other being Sunday, March 18, at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers. The Phillies will not play the Twins in the regular season.
- Former Phillies infielders Taylor Featherston and Brock Stassi are in Twins camp this spring as non-roster invitees.
- Phillies catchers have committed the second-most passed balls this spring, 3, trailing only the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros (4).
- The Minnesota Twins’ .213 team batting average is the worst in baseball, while the Phillies’ .245 average is the eighth-worst.
- Kingery went 2-3 with a double and stolen base in his fifth start on Sunday. The 23-year-old is now batting 7-18 (.389) this spring with three home runs.
What’s Next:
- Tuesday, March 6, 2018: Off-day
- Wednesday, March 7, 2018: vs. Boston Red Sox (split-squad), 1:05 p.m.
- Spectrum Field, Clearwater, Fla.
- RHP Justin Haley (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (1-1, 9.00 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP+, MLBN; Radio: N/A
