Royals farmhands lead comeback victory over Angels

Royals manager Ned Yost keeps looking for surprises in the Arizona sun during spring training.

He found plenty in the Royals’ come-from-behind 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The Royals, 5-0, stayed unbeaten in the Cactus League as a band of farmhands scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Here are some names to remember for the future:

▪ Orlando Calixte, a 23-year-old outfielder, ripped a two-run triple to the right-field wall that tied the game 4-4.

▪ Ryan Jackson, a 26-year-old non-roster infielder stroked an RBI single, giving the Royals a 5-4 lead. Jackson stole second and …

▪ Gabriel Noriega, a 24-year old infielder, drove in Jackson for the insurance run.

Veteran Yohan Pino, a 31-year-old pitcher who spent 2014 with Minnesota, closed the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out the first two batters he faced.

“It was nice to see,” Yost said. “Calixte is a young kid who has a lot of power to all fields. We got a glimpse of that. Speed on the bases there helped us tie the game, and some clutch hitting by Jackson. It was fun to see.”

Some observations from the game:

▪ Center fielder Lorenzo Cain was up to his old tricks, making a running catch in left center, complete with snow cone, and taking a hit from Angels leadoff man Kole Calhoun.

▪ Rookie outfielder Bubba Starling got wood on the ball in his two at-bats, popping out to center field each time. That ended a streak of five straight strikeouts for the former first-round pick from Gardner Edgerton.

This story was originally published March 8, 2015 at 6:41 PM.