Cruz homers, Twins finally defeat Braves 4-2

After losing the first five Grapefruit League matchups between Minnesota and Atlanta, the Twins finally got the best of the Braves on Monday afternoon with a 4-2 victory.

Minnesota jumped ahead of the Braves with two runs in the second inning. In the third, designated hitter Nelson Cruz parked a pitch 426 feet away from home plate for a two-run dinger.

NELLY TO THE MOON! 🚀@ncboomstick23 | @Twins pic.twitter.com/9VXqEZmVgY

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) March 22, 2021

It was all the runs the Twins would need.

Jose Berrios held the Braves scoreless in 4 2/3 innings of work, allowing two hits and whiffing six batters.

Alex Colome, Hansel Robles and Taylor Rogers all worked a scoreless inning of relief. Atlanta brought across two runs in the top of the ninth inning off reliever Cody Stashak, but the right-hander recovered and finished off the victory.

The Twins have just eight games remaining on their Grapefruit League schedule. Minnesota is back in action Tuesday for a 12 p.m. matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates.