Royals pitcher Homer Bailey not reading too much into spring training outings
With 12 seasons in the majors under his belt, Royals pitcher Homer Bailey has had plenty of spring training outings and has learned not to put too much significance on any one of them.
Bailey, who signed a minor-league deal with the Royals last month, made his second appearance and first start of the spring in a five-inning, rain-shortened 6-2 split-squad loss to the Texas Rangers in front of an announced 4,088 spectators at Surprise Stadium on Monday night.
Bailey allowed four runs on seven hits (two doubles) in 2 1/3 innings.
“I don’t really know that I’ve ever had a good spring training to be honest with you,” Bailey said. “Results, I think, will come more if I’m walking a bunch of people and I’m not being competitive in the zone, maybe a reading a few springs — obviously they’re hitting balls that are in the middle of the zone — but reading swings and takes and seeing maybe where the action is.”
Bailey said reviewing this outing will be a good gauge of what he did well and what he didn’t.
Royals manager Ned Yost said he was encouraged by Bailey’s change-up, curveball and the fact his fastball reached 94 miles per hour.
Out of the box: Relief pitcher Brad Boxberger allowed one run on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning against the Rangers. Because of a leg injury, he hadn’t appeared in a Cactus League game since his spring debut with the Royals on Feb. 26.
Bombs away: The Royals earned a 5-1 win with their other split squad, which faced the Seattle Mariners on Monday night in Peoria. Alex Gordon and Jorge Soler each hit home runs. Soler, who also had a double, went 2-for-3 with a two runs scored and two RBI. Erick Mejia, Bubba Starling and Gordon also had two hits apiece.
Starting pitcher Heath Fillmyer allowed one earned run on five hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out three in his second start this spring training.
“Minus two walks, I felt great, my body felt great especially early,” Fillmyer said. “You know, it’s spring training. Feeling the way I’ve been feeling, it was nice to just feel free and easy and have all my pitches in the strike zone.”
More moves: The Royals announced they’d optioned right-handed pitchers Conner Greene and Josh Staumont to Triple-A Omaha prior to Monday night’s split-squad games. Those moves coupled with the addition of catcher Martin Maldonado leaves the Royals with 58 players in big-league camp.
Up next: The Royals host the Chicago White Sox split squad at 3:05 p.m. in Surprise Stadium. Right-hander Brad Keller is the scheduled starting pitcher, while Kevin McCarthy, Tim Hill, Glenn Sparkman and Drew Storen are also scheduled to pitch. Fox Sports Kansas City will have the telecast of the game, while KCSP (610 AM) will carry the radio broadcast.
This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 1:40 AM.
