FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A few takeaways from the Fort, where the Atlas moving van was nearly completely packed before the Red Sox took the field and went on to a 5-1 victory over the Twins:
Cody Ross -- Juggler and contortionist: Cody Ross was a contortionist in the fourth inning, when he twisted his body unsuccessfully to avoid an inside pitch from Twins starter Carl Pavano and was hit in the back.
Pavano managed to cool off Ross’ RBI binge with that wayward pitch. But in the sixth, Ross -- who came into the game tied for the major-league spring training lead with six homers and a team-leading 15 RBIs -- roughed up Pavano with an RBI double down the third-base line.
Ross was a juggler about three hours before the game. Credit MLB Network analyst and former Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey with uncovering a skill we didn’t know Ross had.
Casey, who was filming segments here Sunday, allowed Ross to dazzle him by juggling three baseballs.
“Oh, man! You’ve got a lot of talents!” Casey shouted, giving Ross a bear hug.
Pitching prowess: Vicente Padilla, Scott Atchison, Justin Thomas, Garrett Mock and Brock Huntzinger combined to hold the Twins to just five hits. Padilla gave up two hits in 1 2/3 innings, striking out two.
Roster rundown: With Ryan Lavarnway being optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, the Red Sox have 40 players in big-league camp, including 29 from the 40-man roster, two on the 60-day disabled list and nine nonroster invitees.
Seriously, Ciriaco: Pedro Ciriaco probably wishes spring training could continue, oh, forever. Already sporting a .400/.625/1.054 line, he replaced Kevin Youkilis in the sixth and promptly stole second and third, then scored on Ross’ double. In the seventh, he blistered a double. He’s now hitting .415.
Monday means moving: Immediately after Monday’s game, the Red Sox will bus to the airport for a flight to Washington, D.C., where they play the Nationals on Tuesday in the final exhibition game before Thursday’s opener at Detroit.