Twins 5, Red Sox 1

FORT MYERS, Fla. --Denard Span was swinging in the batting cages at 12:10 p.m. Sunday when Minnesota Twins first base coach Jerry White summoned him.

"You've got infield in five minutes," White told Span. "You're starting."

Twins Hall of Famer and former center fielder Kirby Puckett had suffered a stroke Sunday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. Shaken by the news of his mentor, center fielder Torii Hunter was a late scratch from the lineup.

Enter Span.

"I didn't know what the reason was," Span said. "I didn't find out until like five minutes before the game started. I was kind of shocked. I got a little nervous."

But Span did just fine. The 22-year-old prospect went 1-for-1 with two walks, two runs scored and one RBI as Minnesota defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-1 in front of 7,749 fans at the Lee County Sports Complex.

Span hit an RBI-single in the fifth inning that scored pinch runner Jason Pridie for a 4-1 lead.

First baseman Garret Jones then hit an RBI single that scored Span from first base for a 5-1 lead that stood.

Boston first baseman J.T. Snow had an RBI-single that scored third baseman Mike Lowell in the fourth inning for Boston's only run.

"It's my first game starting in a big-league spring training game," Span said. "I had three good at-bats. I got on base, and Garrett drove me in twice. I did everything I was supposed to do."

Span did everything he was supposed to last season in the minors. He hit .339 with 13 stolen bases for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle. He then hit .285 with 10 stolen bases at Double-A New Britain.

"We didn't have a leadoff hitter," said Twins minor league infielder Tommy Watkins, who played in New Britain last season. "When we got him, we took off. He can run, I'll tell you what. No doubt about it. If he gives me a couple of steps, I would think about racing him."

Or maybe 20 steps. Twins minor league coach Jose Marzan compared Span's speed to that of Deion Sanders, whom Marzan played with in college at Florida State.

Span used that speed to race home from first base in the fourth inning Sunday on a double by Jones to right-center field.

"It's too early in the spring to be going from first to home," Span said. "I was a little winded. I'm coming around third, and I thought I was going to give out."

Span said Hunter has served as a valuable mentor to him, just as Puckett did to Hunter.

"When he talks to me, I think he's reminiscing a little bit of what it was like when he was going to Kirby for advice," Span said of Hunter. "He gives me a lot of confidence, letting me know that I can do it.

With Hunter's contract up at the end of this season, Span could be the team's center fielder of the future.

"I'm a couple of steps closer than I was at the beginning of last spring," Span said. "I have a couple of things that I need to work on."

Notes: Backup catcher Shawn Wooten left camp, returning to Minnesota to be with his wife, Marissa, who gave birth do a daughter. Kylee Nicole Wooten weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces. ...The Twins agreed to terms with six players on contracts for this season: pitchers Scott Baker, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Francisco Liriano, catcher Joe Mauer, first baseman Justin Morneau and outfielder Lew Ford. All 40 players on the roster are signed for the 2006 season. ...The Twins added left-handed pitcher Jason Miller and right-handed pitcher Kevin Cameron to big-league camp Sunday to fill in for players competing in the World Baseball Classic.