BRADENTON, Fla. -- It was clear this was no ordinary spring outing for Tom Gorzelanny.

He seemed deadly serious all morning, his iPod isolating his world, his eyes fixed on hitter's charts, his thoughts squarely focused on -- finally -- pitching well.

And the result?

Six innings, eight strikeouts, one walk.

Not bad, especially when coupled with just two runs and four hits allowed in the Pirates' 5-3 upending of the Minnesota Twins yesterday at McKechnie Field.

Especially considering he entered with a 9.45 ERA and more than a few doubts about his selection to the rotation.

"I treated this start as if it meant something," Gorzelanny said later. "It wasn't a workout. I went out there revved up and firing."

No question about that. His high heat and a sharp changeup drew plenty of swings and misses. And even those who made contact rarely did so solidly: Matt Moses' first-inning RBI single came off a broken bat, and Chris Heintz's second-inning home run was greatly aided by gusts blowing out to left field.

Still, Gorzelanny faulted himself for leaving an 0-2 fastball over the middle.

"Should have gone inside."

"That was the Tom Gorzelanny I saw a year ago," manager Jim Tracy said. "He made one mistake, but he pitched great."

Nady's calf hurting

Xavier Nady, the starting right fielder, was held out of the lineup a second consecutive day because of a tight right calf, but the injury is not serious.

Nady took at-bats in minor-league games yesterday at Pirate City.

Other game highlights

The Pirates trailed, 3-0, through seven innings and had just one hit before a five-run rally in the eighth. That was sparked almost entirely by young reserves, with RBI singles coming from Shaler native Dan Schwartzbauer, Neil Walker and Brian Bixler.

Closer Salomon Torres, facing his first save situation, walked one but put down the Twins in the ninth. His spring ended with a 10.80 ERA but strong showings in the final two outings. "That's the old Sully," Torres said. "I know my sinker's my bread and butter, and I'm going back to it."

Brad Eldred had the Pirates' lone extra-base hit, a double down the left-field line in the eighth.

Buried treasure

Ronny Paulino has been batting third all week, and Tracy acknowledged he is thinking about having him there to start the season if Freddy Sanchez is not ready. Paulino is batting .471.

With their final game at McKechnie, the Pirates set spring attendance records with their total of 81,967 and their average of 5,123.

Paul Maholm will get the final start of the spring today in Fort Myers against Minnesota.