NORTH PORT, FLA. – Ryan Jeffers didn't produce a hit in his four plate appearances during Sunday's spring training game, but Rocco Baldelli spoke at length about what he described as under-the-radar highlights.

With Royce Lewis on second base in the second inning, Jeffers had a 10-pitch at-bat against Tampa Bay Rays righthander Shane Baz where he fouled seven pitches before flying out to right field to advance Lewis a base.

Jeffers followed his lengthy at-bat with a sacrifice fly, a hit by pitch and a strikeout in another 10-pitch at-bat, which was a called third strike on a pitch below the strike zone.

"All of that is exactly the kind of stuff we've been talking about," said Baldelli, referencing the way Jeffers fought against tough pitches with two strikes and hit line drives to the opposite field. "Those types of at-bats lead to really positive things. That's what you want to see from guys at this point in the year."

In some ways, Sunday's game encapsulated Jeffers' 2024 season. He took a step back statistically from a breakout 2023 season as his batting average fell by 40 points and his OPS dropped from .858 to .732.

But Jeffers felt he was as good in the batter's box last year as he was two years ago.

"A lot of what I was missing last year were some of those line drives I'd hit that would fall," said Jeffers, who had a .238 batting average on balls in play last year, 42 points below his career average and a 121-point drop from the previous season. "That was a big difference in '23 and '24. But there were some other areas that can jump out and do better. We're attacking those. Hopefully, the luck swings a little bit more back my way this year."

Jeffers didn't hit the ball consistently as hard last season as he did in 2023, but he significantly reduced his strikeout rate.

"I feel like there is an aspect of you earn your luck in baseball," Jeffers said. "When your OPS and stuff drops too, you're like I'd trade some strikeouts for a higher OPS."

Over the past two seasons, there are only three catchers with more than 500 plate appearances who have posted a higher OPS than Jeffers: William and Willson Contreras, and Yainer Diaz.

"I don't want to be known as just a good-hitting catcher," Jeffers said. "I want to be known as a good hitter all around."

Canterino sidelined

It's been 2½ years since Matt Canterino pitched in a minor league game, and he will enter this season on the injured list.

Canterino, 27, was diagnosed with a right shoulder strain after a magnetic resonance imaging exam and there is no timetable for him to resume throwing while he awaits a second opinion on his shoulder. He said he felt the injury when he warmed up to enter a spring training game last Saturday.

He made one Grapefruit League appearance this spring, totaling three walks and a strikeout in a scoreless inning.

A second-round pick in the 2019 MLB amateur draft out of Rice University, Canterino has been on the Twins' 40-man roster since Nov. 2022. Tommy John surgery cost him the entire 2023 season while a rotator cuff strain lingered throughout last year, though he faced hitters in live batting practice sessions in October.

During Canterino's minor league career, he owns a 1.48 ERA in 85 innings with 130 strikeouts and 35 walks.

Twins tie Braves

Six Twins pitchers combined to shut out the Atlanta Braves offense Tuesday at CoolToday Park, but their offense mustered only four hits in a 0-0 tie. It's believed to be the Twins' first scoreless tie in a Grapefruit League game in at least two decades.

Ty France was robbed of an extra-base hit to lead off the second inning when Atlanta's center fielder Michael Harris II made a leaping catch one step in front of the wall. Matt Wallner flew out with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.

Randy Dobnak, facing a Braves lineup filled with regular starters, struck out five and walked two across three scoreless innings. Four of his five strikeouts came via his slider.

'Friday Night Baseball' TV games

The Twins will have three games broadcast on Apple TV+'s "Friday Night Baseball" during the first half of the season: April 11 vs. Detroit, April 18 at Atlanta and May 9 vs. San Francisco.

The games will be exclusively broadcast through Apple TV+, so they will not be available as part of the Twins.TV streaming or cable packages.