Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar help Venezuela thump Royals 11-0 in exhibition before WBC
On a quiet Wednesday afternoon at Surprise Stadium, Team Venezuela, one of the early betting favorites in this year’s World Baseball Classic, unveiled what amounted to an All-Star team in an exhibition game against the Royals.
The starting lineup featured nine players who have combined for 30 All-Star appearances, two MVPs and one Triple Crown. The assemblage of talent was jarring, even on a sleepy day at spring training.
“It’s a tough draw,” Royals manager Ned Yost would say, stating the obvious.
The Royals were playing without catcher Salvador Perez and shortstop Alcides Escobar, who were starting for Venezuela. The club also lacked first baseman Eric Hosmer, who departed camp this week to join Team USA in Florida.
The result was not a fair fight. Just two days before its opener in the World Baseball Classic, Venezuela did what you might expect a team with nine All-Star starters to do, roughing up the Royals 11-0 in a rare Cactus League matchup.
“That’s a good team,” Yost said. “They should go pretty far.”
Perez finished 2 for 3 with an RBI single against Royals starter Ian Kennedy. Escobar, batting eighth for Venezuela, clubbed two triples and racked up three RBIs. And that was just the start of the Venezuelans’ firepower. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve led off and had two hits. Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera batted third and roped a solo homer to right field in the sixth.
The homer caromed off the head of a young fan standing in the grassy berm in right-center and provided a momentary scare. The young boy eventually came to his feet, shook off the encounter and headed for a first-aid stand.
Perez and Escobar will return to Surprise Stadium on Thursday for another exhibition game against the Texas Rangers. Venezuela will open the World Baseball Classic against Puerto Rico at 8 p.m. Friday in Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Zapopan, Mexico.
“You want to see them do good,” Yost said of Perez and Escobar. “They’re part of your group, and you know that they are going to go compete for this WBC and you want them at the top of their game and they both looked great.”
The arms
Kennedy can blame the schedule for this one. In his second Cactus League start, he drew the short straw, facing the stacked Venezuelan lineup. Kennedy allowed two runs (one earned) on three singles and an error in the first inning. He bounced back in the second, working around a two-out walk.
Right-hander Yender Caramo, a native of Venezuela, replaced Kennedy and worked a scoreless inning in the third, facing countrymen Cabrera and Carlos Gonzalez. Caramo, 25, called the moment a thrill. He retired both hitters.
“My first time,” he said. “Pretty excited.”
Reliever Mike Minor allowed four runs (two earned) across two innings, though his final line could have looked better with some smoother defense. Right-hander Kevin McCarthy was knocked around for four runs in the sixth.
The regulars
Alex Gordon made another start in right field and finished 0 for 3 with three strikeouts. With Gordon in right, Jorge Soler moved over to left field and was 1 for 3.
Mike Moustakas started at third base and recorded one hit in three at-bats while making a throwing error in the field. Brandon Moss, who was nursing a sore back, returned to the lineup and collected a hit.
The young guys
Raul Mondesi finished 1 for 2 while making an error at second base. Terrance Gore replaced Lorenzo Cain in center field and made a terrific running catch in the gap.
Wednesday’s summary
VENEZUELA 11, ROYALS 0
Venezuela | AB | R | H | BI | W | K | Avg. |
Altuve 2b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
Odor 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Prado 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
Solarte 3b | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Cabrera 1b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
H. Perez 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Gonzalez rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
Sanchez rf | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Martinez dh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Flores ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
S. Perez c | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
Chirinos c | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Herrera lf | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
Escobar ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
Castellno ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Inciarte cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
Totals | 44 | 11 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 |
Kansas City | AB | R | H | BI | W | K | Avg. |
Gordon rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 |
Bonifacio rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Moustakas 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Colon pr | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
Cain cf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
Gore cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Moss dh | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 |
Soler lf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
Burns pr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Cuthbert 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Dozier 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
Butera c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
O’Brien ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 |
Mondesi 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Merrifield 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Torres ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Arteaga ss | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Totals | 36 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Venezuela | 200 | 224 | 010 | — | 11 | 18 | 1 |
Kansas City | 000 | 000 | 000 | — | 0 | 9 | 2 |
E: Cabrera (1), Moustakas (1), Mondesi (2). DP: Venezuela 2, Kansas City 1. LOB: Venezuela 10, Kansas City 11. 2B: Gonzalez (3). 3B: Escobar 2 (3). HR: Cabrera (1). SB: Altuve 2 (5). SF: Inciarte (1).
Venezuela | IP | H | R | ER | W | K | ERA |
Petit W, 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Alvarado | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Guerra | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
Suarez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Rodriguez | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Alvarez | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
Bencomo | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
Rico | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Kansas City | IP | H | R | ER | W | K | ERA |
Kennedy L, 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4.50 |
Caramo | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
Minor | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 |
McCarthy | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 36.00 |
Culver | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Stout | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.00 |
Withrow | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Holds: Alvarado (3), Guerra (2). Umpires: Home, John Tumpane; First, Lance Barrett; Third, Alex Tosi. Time: 3:06. Att: 3,183.
Rustin Dodd: 816-234-4937, @rustindodd. Download True Blue, The Star’s free Royals app.
This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar help Venezuela thump Royals 11-0 in exhibition before WBC."