Twins notes: Class AA pitcher sharp in Hall of Fame game

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Over the years, major league teams have used the annual Hall of Fame Game as a way to get a firsthand look at their best pitching prospects.

Steve Carlton in 1966, Roy Halladay in 1998 and C.C. Sabathia in 2000 are a few of the future major league stars who got their first taste of the big time at Doubleday Field. And if the Twins are lucky, Scott Baker eventually will join that list.

The Twins summoned Baker from Class AA New Britain to start Monday's Hall of Fame Game against the Atlanta Braves, and the 6-4 righthander did not disappoint them. Baker gave up two runs and three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in five innings before the Braves rallied to win 10-7 before an announced sellout crowd of 9,868.

"It's an honor they chose me to pitch," Baker said. "I know it's good for [the Twins] because it gives the big guys a day off."

Baker, 22, is 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA since getting promoted from Class A Fort Myers in mid-May. In his first start for the Rock Cats on May 18, he came within two outs of throwing a seven-inning perfect game in the second game of a doubleheader against Portland.

Baker, a second-round pick from Oklahoma State in 2003, admitted his stomach was doing somersaults when he took the mound Monday. That was only natural, with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and legend Harmon Killebrew watching his work.

"You're expected to go out and perform, so you have to deal with it," Baker said. "It's not hard to get the juices flowing."

Baker surrendered bases-empty home runs to Andruw Jones in the second inning and Dewayne Wise in the fourth. In the first two innings, while most of the starters were still in the game, Baker retired Rafael Furcal on a line out and fanned Atlanta regulars Nick Green, J.D. Drew, Julio Franco and Eli Marrero.

Etc.

• Twins catcher/first baseman Matthew LeCroy won the pregame home run contest, smacking five in the first round to tie Atlanta's Johnny Estrada, and then clubbing two more on his first two swings of the second round to beat Estrada.

• The Twins arrived in Cooperstown on Sunday night and toured the Hall of Fame. First-time Hall visitor Torii Hunter said he was especially touched by the displays honoring Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. "Those guys are the reason why I'm playing this game today," Hunter said.