Canaan Smith-Njigba earned a spot on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Opening Day roster with a strong spring, then showed why with one swing when he hit a three-run, opposite-field home run for the lead in the sixth inning.
The Minnesota Twins rallied late for a 7-5 win Tuesday afternoon in the Grapefruit League finale at LECOM Park. The Pirates, who finished spring training with a 9-18-4 record, leave Bradenton, Fla., for Cincinnati, where they will open the season against the Reds on Thursday at Great American Ball Park.
Trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Austin Hedges singled and Maikol Escotto drew a walk to set the stage for Smith-Njigba to hit Jordan Brink’s 1-1 changeup 380 feet to left-center for a 4-2 lead.
The 23-year-old Smith-Njigba, who suffered a season-ending fractured wrist in his third game with the Pirates last year, went 16 for 48 (.333) with three doubles, three homers and a team-high 14 RBIs in 20 Grapefruit League games to win a job as the fourth outfielder.
Johan Oviedo also earned a spot on the Opening Day roster, where he will join the starting rotation. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Oviedo will replace fellow right-hander JT Brubaker, who is headed to the injured list with right elbow/forearm discomfort.
Oviedo recorded seven strikeouts to finish the spring with 24, two behind Brubaker for the team lead, while going 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 19 2/3 innings over six appearances (four starts). Oviedo posted a 2.93 ERA over his last four appearances, including three starts.
The Twins scored two runs on six hits off Oviedo. Kyle Farmer’s RBI double gave them a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Ryan Jeffers doubled off the right-field wall in the fifth, and pinch runner Kyle Schmidt advanced to third on a Michael A. Taylor single and scored when Alex Isola hit into a double play for a 2-1 edge.
Ji-Man Choi followed Smith-Njigba’s homer with an RBI single to score Javier Rivas for a 5-2 lead, but the Twins rallied by scoring a run off reliever Jose Hernandez in the seventh and taking the lead in the eighth.
Dauri Moreta gave up a two-out single to Will Holland and a triple to Anthony Prato that cut it to 5-4. Juan Minaya replaced Moreta but walked Tanner Schobel, then gave up a three-run homer to Seth Gray.
