BRADENTON, Fla. — After a few bumpy spring training outings, pitcher Vance Worley showed why he deserves to be the Minnesota Twins’ opening day starter.

Worley settled down after the first inning and rolled through five in a 7-4 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the first inning with one out but scored just one run. In the third, Worley served up a solo homer to Pedro Alvarez.

Danny Ortiz hit a two-run homer and Doug Bernier had three hits for the Twins. Ortiz’s shot to right field off reliever Chris Leroux sparked a four-run eighth inning. Bernier opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI double off right-hander A.J. Burnett.

Burnett, who will be the Pirates’ opening day starter, pitched three innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out two.

It was the first time since March 9 that Burnett pitched in an “A” game. He opted to do much of his preparation this spring in minor league games. That allowed the Pirates to have younger pitchers competing for jobs pitch in the Grapefruit League games.

“It was good to get up there in front of my guys and in front of the fans and face big league hitters,” Burnett said. “But it’s spring. For a guy at my age and what I’ve done, I’ve just got to get ready. Now we play games that mean something. It’s time to go.”

It was the first time catcher Russell Martin, who signed with the Pirates in November, caught Burnett in a game.

“We got to work on some things, and throw some pitches in some counts that might happen during the season,” Burnett said.

Alvarez had four hits and three RBIs. Starling Marte went 3 for 5 and has reached base safely in eight straight games.

The Pirates chose left-hander Jeff Locke to fill their final open spot in their starting rotation. Outfielder Alex Presley, the Pirates’ opening day left fielder last season, and infielder Jordy Mercer were optioned to Indianapolis. Brandon Inge and Jeff Karstens (shoulder) likely will begin the season on the disabled list.