Final: Twins 8, Red Sox 1

FORT MYERS, Fla. --

WHO: Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
WHEN: 1:05 p.m.
WHERE: jetBlue Park
TV/RADIO: WEEI 850 AM
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Chandler Shepherd vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi
OTHERS SCHEDULED PITCHERS: RHP Heath Hembree, LHP Robby Scott, RHP Ty Buttrey
PITCHERS SCHEDULED FOR CLEARWATER vs. PHILLIES: RHP Justin Haley, RHP Marcus Waldren, RHP Kyle Martin, LHP Bobby Poyner
PITCHERS SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY: LHP Brian Johnson, RHP Fernando Rodriguez Jr.

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

• Starter Chandler Shepherd had a brief and disappointing start, lasting just two-thirds of an inning while allowing four runs on four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. He leaves a man in scoring position and has put the Sox in early hole. One of the runs was unearned thanks to a throwing error by center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. He threw 29 pitches, 20 for strikes.


• J.D. Martinez was greeted with a nice ovation in his first official at-bat in a Red Sox uniform. He flied to right for the final out of the first inning, stranding a baserunner.


• Chad De La Guerra with an opposite-field, one-out single for the first Red Sox hit of the afternoon here in the third inning.


• The second Martinez at-bat, in the bottom of the fourth, was also largely uneventful: a flyout to center.


• The Sox have produced two hits this inning, with a sharp single to center by Hanley Ramirez and a check-swing, excuse-me single to right from Xander Bogaerts.


• Mitch Moreland produces a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left, scoring Ramirez from third for the first Red Sox run of the afternoon.


• That's it for Martinez for the afternoon. He leaves after four innings and two at-bats, giving way to Aneury Tavarez in left field.


• Mookie Betts is 0-for-3 this afternoon, and incredibly, is without a hit in a Grapefruit League game this season, going 0-for-17

• Eduardo Nunez was set to make his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday afternoon against the Twins, but some heavy rain hit Fort Myers earlier this morning, soaking the field and the Red Sox decided to hold Nunez out of the lineup as a precaution. Fresh off last year's knee injury and winter-long rehab, it didn't make sense to expose him to wet turf for his first game. The plan now is for him to play at second Thursday against Tampa Bay and  DH Saturday against Minnesota.


• Brock Holt, who was scratched Tuesday with an abdominal pull, is "feeling better,'' according to Alex Cora. He's expected to return to the lineup Friday against the Marlins in Jupiter.


• Drew Pomeranz, who was cleared to resume throwing Tuesday after suffering a strained flexor tendon last week, played catch from a distance of 60-90 feet Wednesday morning.  "It went fine,'' said Cora. "Good day for him. No pain today.'' In a day or so, he'll throw from a distance of 120 feet, then return to action sometime next week.


• Asked if any of the young pitchers in camp has caught his eye, Cora mentioned lefty Bobby Poyner, who is scheduled to throw in the split-squad game in Clearwater against the Phils. Poyner, who pitched in the Arizona Fall League last fall, has retired 15-of-16 hitters faced over five spring outings. Poyner spent last season between High A Salem and Double A Portland, appearing in 43 games while averaging 12.53 SO/9.0 IP and posting a 0.93 WHIP.