Minnesota 8, Pittsburgh 5

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Minnesota's Jason Hart's first spring hit went over the wall. Just two years ago, swinging the bat seemed a distant activity.

Hart homered, Tony Batista had two hits and an RBI and the Twins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 on Friday.

"Whether it was a homer or not, it was nice to just put a good wood on the ball," said Hart, who snapped an 0-for-13 slump. "You're not really starting to press, because its just spring training. But when a few games go by, you're wanting to get that first hit."

Hart didn't get any hits at all in 2004. On March 9 of that year, Hart found out that his wife, Jenny, was pregnant with their first child. Just one week later, he found out that he had a brain tumor the size of a baseball.

"I just wanted to be able to hold my kid," said Jason, who was a Triple-A player in the Texas Rangers' organization at the time. "My first priority was my family."

Hart had been experiencing some headaches as camp began in 2004 and his equilibrium was off, but he thought it was just a sinus infection. A doctor noticed one of his pupils was larger than the other -- a sign of brain trauma.

As it turned out, a bubble around the tumor was pressed against his brain, saving him from damage. He had surgery to remove the tumor, and he was cleared to start swinging again that September. Two months later, his daughter, Kloe, was born.

Hart averaged 22 homers per season in the minors until his surgery. Last season, he hit .246 with 21 homers and 77 RBI for Oklahoma in the Pacific Coast League. The Twins signed him in December.

"We're aware of what he's gone through and overcome," general manager Terry Ryan said. "It's a tremendous tribute to him that he's here. We were looking for some power. Jason's got some power. He's fit in here well."

Left fielder Jason Pridie, filling in for Shannon Stewart, who has a sore foot, went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored for Minnesota. Torii Hunter had an RBI double, and right fielder Jason Kubel had an RBI single.

Nate McLouth and Jose Batista each hit solo home runs for the Pirates. Jack Wilson went 0-for-2 in his spring training debut following surgery to remove wisdom teeth on March 1.

"He played terrific," manager Jim Tracy said. "Like he hadn't missed a beat. He handled the ground balls in the field flawlessly, just like I've seen him do for a number of years."

Game notes
The Twins agreed to minor league contracts with catchers Kyle Geiger and Korey Feiner. ... Twins manager Ron Gardenhire rested second baseman Luis Castillo on Thursday because of a sore right leg, but Castillo is expected to return to the lineup by Tuesday.