Royals’ Chien-Ming Wang has solid outing in 5-2 win over the A’s

Chien-Ming Wang continued his resurgent spring Saturday afternoon, throwing three scoreless innings in the Royals’ 5-0 victory over Oakland at Surprise Stadium.

The performance — along with Wang’s full body of work this spring — raises an intriguing question for the Royals as they enter the final week of camp. In 13 innings, Wang has allowed just three earned runs, including two in a start at the hitter-friendly Alamodome in San Antonio. He has recorded eight strikeouts against one walk. His sinker has regularly clocked in the low- to mid-90s, sitting at 93 mph on Saturday.

In short, Wang has pitched well enough to claim one of the final spots in the bullpen.

It may not be enough. In the offseason, Wang, 35, signed a minor-league deal with an opt-out clause that will not take effect until May 1. In the meantime, the Royals can elect to stash Wang at Class AAA Omaha. For now, Wang is confident that he’s done enough to make the team. But the decision is out of his control.

“I feel I’m good,” said Wang, who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2013. “But (they’ve) got to make a decision in the (manager’s office).”

While Wang shined in his spot start, left-hander Danny Duffy threw two scoreless innings, with two strikeouts and a walk. Duffy appears slotted for a bullpen role, where he will likely pitch in middle relief. His exact role remains undefined, but Royals manager Ned Yost said Saturday that he preferred that Duffy remained stretched out to throw multiple innings. Duffy threw 27 pitches in two innings against the A’s.

“Ever since (going to) San Antonio, I’ve been really pleased with how I’ve been pitching,” said Duffy, who began the spring with an outside chance of winning a job in the rotation. “The results haven’t necessarily been there, as far as a line goes, but I feel like everything is getting a lot more sharp. That’s the way it goes for me every year.

“I come in and it’s kind of all over the place for the first week or two. And then as spring starts to wind down, you start to feel more in control. There’s no panic for me.”

The regulars

The Royals scored four runs in the first against A’s starter Chris Bassitt. Shortstop Alcides Escobar opened the game with a single to right field. Mike Moustakas followed by beating the shift with a bunt single down the third-base line. Lorenzo Cain loaded the bases with a sharp single to right.

Bassitt forced two runs home by walking Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon, and Reymond Fuentes drove in two more with a single through the hole at shortstop. Fuentes went 1 for 3, which dropped his average to .419.

The arms

The Royals used just four pitchers Saturday. Reliever Peter Moylan threw two scoreless innings, and David Huff allowed two runs in the top of the ninth.

Up next

The Royals return to the road on Sunday afternoon, facing the A’s at 3:05 p.m. at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.

Saturday’s summary

Royals 5, Athletics 2

DP: Oakland 1. LOB: Oakland 3, Kansas City 7. 2B: Hosmer (5). 3B: Canha (1). SF: Smolinski.

Balk: D.Duffy. Umpires: Home, Mike Muchlinski; First, Alan Porter; Third, Chris Segal. Time: 2:26. Att: 10,264.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Royals’ Chien-Ming Wang has solid outing in 5-2 win over the A’s."