FORT MYERS, Fla. - Ryan Dempster pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only three hits as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 Saturday.

Dempster improved to 3-0 this spring, striking out five. Three times he fanned Twins leadoff man Jacque Jones, who came into the game batting .452.

''The changeup was tremendous today, I was spotting my fastball pretty much where I wanted to put it and there was nothing but positive things,'' said Dempster, who only threw 67 pitches. ''It's just confidence, and my confidence a lot of times last year wasn't very strong.''

Brandon Larson homered and drove in three runs. Jacob Cruz went 2-for-2 and scored twice after coming in to pinch-run for Adam Dunn in the top of the fifth.

Twins' All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter committed his first error of the spring in the second inning and it led to Cincinnati's first run. Hunter called off shortstop Cristian Guzman on a blooper hit by Reggie Taylor and tried to backhand it, but the ball hit the heel of his glove and bounced away.

''We just weren't focused out there,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ''We didn't catch the ball, we didn't hit and we swung at bad pitches. It was just one of those games.''

Notes: IF Felipe Lopez, vying to become the Reds' leadoff hitter, has hit safely in eight of 10 games and is batting .286 with two homers and six RBI's so far this spring. … The Reds assigned Dernell Stenson to Triple-A Louisville. Cincinnati claimed Stenson off waivers after his release from the Boston Red Sox Feb. 25. Stenson hit .200 in spring training. … Former Red Sox OF Benny Agbayani made his first appearance in a Cincinnati uniform in the sixth inning.

REDS 6, TWINS 1

CINCINNATI MINNESOTA

abrhbiabrhbi

Lopez ss4010Jones lf3000

Encarnacion ss1000Hocking lf-cf1000

LaRue c3000Guzman ss4010

Stefanski c1000Morban ss0000

Dunn 1b1001Hunter cf3000

Cruz pr-1b2220Ryan lf1000

Larson ss-dh4223Koskie 3b2000

Guillen rf3010Prieto pr-3b0000

Brown rf-cf2000Mohr rf4000

Mateo lf3000Mientkiewicz 1b3010

Agbayani lf1000Andrews 1b1000

Taylor cf3010Kielty dh3110

Castro 3b1110Pierzynski c2000

Guerrero 2b3000LeCroy c1010

Bergolla 2b1000Rivas 2b3010

Pena 3b-rf4121 

Totals 376105Totals 31150

Cincinnati 011020110-6

Minnesota 000000010-1

E-Encarnacion, Hunter, Koskie. DP-Cincinnati 1, Minnesota 1. LOB-Cincinnati 8, Minnesota 5. 2B-Pena, Castro. HR-Larson (2). SB-Lopez (4), Cruz (1). SF-Dunn.

IPHRERBBSO

Cincinnati

Dempster W,3-0630005

Sullivan 100011

Heredia 121100

Riedling 100012

Minnesota

Thomas L,0-2332123

Romero 212203

Guardado 110000

Cabrera 242201

Nakamura 110000

HBP-by Romero (Dunn). WP-Dempster, Reidling. T-2:30. A-7,537.