GAME SUMMARY Skunked.
The Royals completed a five-game winless spring Thursday afternoon against campus neighbor Texas in an 8-5 loss at Surprise Stadium. Both teams broke camp after the game.
Veteran left-hander Mike Maroth got rocked in his first spring start, allowing five runs and six hits in just three innings. He yielded successive no-doubt homers to Hank Blalock and Milton Bradley in the third inning.
Those two homers came after the Royals erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring twice in their half of the third. John Buck had a homer, and Alex Gordon delivered an RBI triple against Texas starter Jason Jennings.
The loss dropped the Royals to 15-13 with two spring games remaining this weekend in Milwaukee.
REGULAR GUYS
Alex Gordon and Joey Gathright each had two of the Royals’ 12 hits. Gordon went two for two with a walk and boosted his average to .308 (16 for 52). Gathright went two for three and raised his average to .351 (20 for 57).
ARMS RACE
Reliever Ramon Ramirez worked a one-two-three sixth inning in his first appearance since arriving Wednesday in a trade with Colorado for a player to be determined. He induced an easy grounder, an infield pop and recorded a strikeout.
“There’s power there,” manager Trey Hillman said. “There is a lot of play in the secondary pitches because they’ve got depth. It was good to see. It was a nice first look.”
Left-hander John Bale is remaining in Surprise to pitch Sunday in a minor-league game. That will give him four days of rest before his first regular-season start April 4 at Minnesota.
Bale will rejoin the big-league club in time for Monday’s season opener in Detroit.
MOVES AND DEALS
The Royals reassigned Maroth and outfielder Damon Hollins to minor-league camp after the game. Both will be assigned to Class AAA Omaha.
Pitcher Luke Hudson will remain in Arizona to continue his recovery from shoulder surgery. He is expected to open the season on the disabled list.
Left-hander Matt Campbell was released recently as part of a minor-league cutdown. Campbell, 25, was the 29th overall pick in the 2004 draft but never approached his potential after undergoing major shoulder surgery in 2005. He was just 6-9 with a 4.63 ERA in 33 games over parts of four minor-league seasons.
INJURY UPDATES
Outfielder David DeJesus missed a third straight game because of a sore left ankle and isn’t likely to start tonight in Milwaukee. Even so, he dismissed concerns that he might not be available for the season opener.
“Oh, I’ll be ready,” he promised. “For sure. No doubt about it.”
Veteran right-hander Hideo Nomo will wait until at least tonight before testing his strained right groin. He suffered the injury Tuesday night against the Padres in Peoria, Ariz.
“It’s not severe,” Hillman said. “It’s just prudent and smarter, because we are still considering him, to wait until we get to Milwaukee.”
NOTABLES
•Minor-league reliever Roberto Giron was added to the travel roster for the two games in Milwaukee.
•The rotation at Class AAA Omaha projects as Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies, Tyler Lumsden, Matt Wright and Maroth. The O-Royals open their season next Thursday against Albuquerque in Omaha.
•The Royals drew 83,118 fans for an average of 6,394 for 13 home games at Surprise Stadium. Both figures are club records for the six seasons since the club relocated to Arizona.
ON DECK
The Royals broke camp after Thursday’s game and took 34 players to Milwaukee for games tonight and Saturday afternoon against the Brewers. The club works out Sunday morning at Comerica Park in Detroit in preparation for the season opener Monday against the Tigers.
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