FORT MYERS, Fla. — South Korean slugger Byung Ho Park struck out three times in his exhibition debut, Phil Hughes breezed through two scoreless innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 7-4 on Wednesday in the teams’ Grapefruit League opener.

Signed to a $12 million, four-year contract and acquired for a $12.85 million fee, Park struck out swinging his first two at-bats and then took a called third strike.

Hughes needed just 20 pitches and allowed only one hit – Hanley Ramirez’s single. He did extra throwing in the bullpen after his outing.

Jorge Polanco hit a two-run homer for the Twins in the first of seven exhibition games between the clubs.

Boston’s Henry Owens struggled with his control, giving up two walks and two hits, but struck out five in two innings.

Owens is hoping to have a strong spring training to make the rotation. He came up in early August last year and went 4-4 with a 4.57 ERA in 11 starts.

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“I felt like it was nice to get that first one out of the way and go full speed ahead,” he said.

Trevor May got the win, allowing two hits in two scoreless innings. Well-regarded prospect Brian Johnson was the loser.

Ramirez, converting to a first baseman, had a routine grounder bounce off his glove and few feet away, but he flipped to Owens covering for the out.

Red Sox Manager John Farrell said designated hitter David Ortiz is expected to play Friday when Boston hosts Tampa Bay, and left-hander David Price is slated to start in a simulated game on Saturday instead of making a two-hour trip to Tampa when the Red Sox face the Yankees.

The Red Sox agreed to one-year contracts with 25 players and all players on the major league roster are now under contract.

YANKEES: A day after accepting a 30-game suspension, closer Aroldis Chapman apologized for using a gun and insisted he never hurt his girlfriend.

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Chapman agreed to the penalty, assessed by Major League Baseball under its new domestic violence policy.

His girlfriend, 22-year-old Cristina Barnea, told police he pushed and choked her during an Oct. 30 incident at his home in Davie, Florida. Chapman said there was an argument but he was pushed down by Barnea’s brother, then got a handgun and fired eight shots into a wall and window while locked in his garage. Prosecutors declined to file charges, citing conflicting accounts.

“I want to take this opportunity, I want this to be clear, I’m apologizing because the use of the gun,” Chapman said Wednesday before the Yankees’ spring training opener. “It was bad judgment on my part. But I also want to say that I never hurt my girlfriend. I want this to be very clear. I’m taking this punishment because of my bad judgment, something that I definitely want to put behind me.”

Chapman said he no longer has a gun.

CARDINALS: Making a long-term commitment to Kolten Wong as its second baseman, the team agreed to a $25.5 million, five-year contract with the 25-year-old.

Wong would have been eligible for salary arbitration next winter and for free agency after the 2019 season.

Wong hit .262 with 11 homers and 61 RBI last year while playing in a career-high 150 games

NATIONALS: Dusty Baker wound up a winner in his debut as Washington’s manager when the Nationals roughed up top Tampa Bay pitching prospect Blake Snell for a 6-2 victory.

ROYALS: Catcher Salvador Perez is donating $1 million to the Urban Youth Academy, a 21-acre development of playing fields and other park amenities near downtown Kansas City, Missouri.


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