Tampa Bay Beats Twins 6-2; Marquis Returns

The Twins lost 6-2 in exhibition play to Tampa Bay in Fort Myers, Florida Tuesday afternoon.  Josh Willingham went 2-3 with 1 RBI and Justin Morneau had a RBI double for the Twins.  Liam Hendriks started the game for Minnesota and threw 5 1/3 innings with 9 hits and 4 earned runs allowed to take the loss.

The Twins are 18-15 this spring and will play an exhibition game against the Fort Myers Miracle today at 12:05.  Minnesota begins the regular season at Baltimore at 2:05 Friday, pregame on WJON at 1:35.

The Twins welcomed back starting pitcher Jason Marquis Tuesday.  He was away from the team for 2 weeks attending to his 7-year old daughter, Reese, who was injured in a bicycle accident.  She was under sedation for 9 days with significant internal bleeding.  She is making steady improvement allowing Marquis to return to the team.  Marquis expects his daughter to make a full recovery.  Marquis threw a bullpen session and is expected to make 1 or 2 minor league starts before he rejoins the Twins rotation.