WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- It¡¯s the final week for Major League auditions, with Opening Day just around the corner. For the Twins, most roster battles seem fairly settled. Then, there¡¯s the bullpen.

Cole Sands got his latest chance to make his mark on Thursday, starting the Twins¡¯ 9-8 walk-off loss to the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. It might not have gone the way Sands wanted (four runs on three hits, including a homer, and two walks over two-plus innings), but there were positives nonetheless.

¡°I felt really good, I thought [my] stuff was really good,¡± Sands said. ¡°Just gotta strike the cutter a little bit more and work ahead a tad more I¡¯d say, but I like where the fastball, the velocities were at. I felt like I had control [with] mostly everything, -- that cutter¡¯s going to be the big equalizer for me this year.¡±

After allowing a first-inning homer to Lane Thomas, who started swinging with a 3-0 count, Sands found some consistency. And while that consistency didn¡¯t last, at least it was there.

Sands is the only bulk reliever left in camp, and he also broke camp with Minnesota last season. And while Spring Training is just that, training, it¡¯s getting near to crunch time.

Pregame, manager Rocco Baldelli discussed what the Twins want to see from Sands -- most of which centers around consistency and attacking the strike zone early. There¡¯s still room for improvement in both areas, given Thursday¡¯s outing, but Sands has shown that he can make adjustments before.

¡°His stuff was about as good as you could ask for,¡± Baldelli said postgame. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him throw 96, 97 [mph] like that; I¡¯ve never seen it. So obviously he¡¯s feeling good. The command wasn¡¯t quite there, he had a little trouble finishing off hitters too, and he had to work hard.

¡°On a positive note, he got stretched out really well, which is what we needed to do. He held his stuff pretty well throughout the outing. The strike-throwing needs to be better, but he knows that and that¡¯ll be an area of focus.¡±

The Twins, of course, also like that Sands still has Minor League options, so they can rotate through long relievers as needed. And one outing does not an entire spring (or season) make.

¡°I feel like overall this Spring Training, I have done that,¡± Sands said regarding attacking the strike zone often and early. ¡°Today I would say probably not, obviously. You know, you¡¯re going to have days where you feel like you¡¯re accomplishing that, but yeah, I think just a tad more strikes today and maybe earlier in counts gets me a little better results. [This spring has] been up and down. Obviously the statistics aren¡¯t pretty, but I feel like I¡¯ve thrown the ball well in most of the outings. ¡­ But I think I¡¯ve made some good strides and gotta just keep building off of that.¡±

¡°Cole Sands has good ability,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°He has the package that should get Major League hitters out. It¡¯s all there, it¡¯s just putting it all together and executing more often. When he executes, he generally gets pretty solid results.¡±

Also making their case ¡­
? Kody Funderburk, who is also competing for a spot in the bullpen, pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh vs. the Nationals after allowing a leadoff walk.

? Daniel Duarte also came out of the bullpen solid vs. Washington, tossing two scoreless innings and allowing one hit with four strikeouts.

¡°He¡¯s looked really good,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°Going back out there, having a multi-up outing, I think he threw the ball great.¡±