BRANDENTON, Fla. — Former Iowa Central baseball standout John Klein tossed two perfect innings for the Minnesota Twins in spring training action on Thursday.

Klein was called into the game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning, sitting down Billy Cook, Jhostnyxon Garcia and Dominic Fletcher in order. The Pirates went on to win the game, 6-4.

In the seventh, Klein retired Nicholas Cimillo and Davis Wendzel before striking out Omar Alfonzo.

The 23-year-old from Brooklyn Park, Minn. was making his debut this season for Minnesota.

Klein has spent the past four seasons in the minor leagues, reaching the AAA level with St. Paul last year. He holds a career record of 17-17 with a 4.21 earned run average and 281 strikeouts in 267 innings pitched.

This past November, Klein had his contract selected by the Twins, who added him to the club’s 40-man roster for spring training.

As a freshman at Iowa Central, Klein went 7-3 with five complete games and 82 strikeouts over 71 innings pitched. He won six games as a sophomore for the Tritons.