The 20-year-old Stuifbergen, signed by the Twins two years ago out of the town of Haalen, Netherlands, said he's using Slowey's career trajectory as motivation.

"I look up to him. He's a great guy," Stuifbergen said.

Stuifbergen, who didn't play last season because of surgery to remove bone spurs from his right shoulder, walked two and gave up one run and two hits in three innings.

"Tom's got good stuff. He's a good kid. He's got three good pitches he can throw," said Bert Blyleven, the former Twins pitcher and current TV analyst who is serving as pitching coach for the Dutch team.

Stuifbergen, who has pitched only seven professional games, all with the rookie level Gulf Coast League Twins in 2007, acknowledged he was nervous.

"I wanted to show the team what I've got," he said. "I want to show them I can pitch at a higher level. Not many minor league Twins players get to start a big league spring training game. If I'm one of them, I'm happy about that."

Slowey struck out two and then pitched a fourth, simulated inning from the bullpen.

"I'm just working on the things I need to work on," Slowey said. "I'm just working on keeping the ball down. Right now, I feel fine. I've only pitched five innings. It's not a huge sample size, but it's still good."

Slowey went 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 11 starts and two relief appearances as a rookie in 2007. He posted a 12-11 record and a 3.99 ERA in 27 starts last season, his first full one as a big league starter. The Twins drafted Slowey in the second round in 2005 out of Winthrop University in South Carolina.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was impressed with Slowey.

"I wish I had a crystal ball," Gardenhire said. "We like him a lot. He really knows how to pitch. He locates it. He's got the pitches. He's very competitive and a very heady kid. When he does something wrong on the mound, he can fix it. He's not afraid to listen. We think he's a pretty good pitcher."

Notes: Closer Joe Nathan threw a successful bullpen session and should pitch in a game again on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles. Nathan dropped out of the WBC and has been held back from some workouts because of a sore right shoulder. ... Former Twins pitcher Sidney Ponson will start for the Netherlands against the Dominican Republic in the first round of the WBC in Puerto Rico. "If you go by the name, then you might as well just give the Dominican the whole thing," said Ponson, who hopes to use his performance to entice a big league team to sign him. "I don't have a job. I just have to do my thing." ... Toby Gardenhire, son of the Twins manager and a minor league utility player, had an RBI single in the seventh inning and then scored on a groundout by Drew Butera.