Singer gets back on track after ‘pretty awful’ first inning in Royals’ spring win
If Brady Singer’s changeup turns into a formidable third pitch that confounds hitters for the next several years, the Kansas City Royals’ right-hander will hardly remember Monday’s frustration as he struggled to get a feel for that pitch against the Oakland Athletics.
Singer regrouped as the Royals rolled to a 10-3 win over the Athletics in seven innings in a Cactus League game at Surprise Stadium in Arizona.
Singer, who made his MLB debut last year, hit two batters and walked two batters — the second to force in a run — within the first six batters he faced.
However, he bounced back to throw two scoreless innings.
“I feel like I handled it well,” Singer said. “The first inning was pretty awful. I think I threw 30 pitches, hit two and walked two, so to come back and hone in those last two innings, work on some things and figure a lot of things out there, it kind of turned into a much better outing than it looked like in the first.”
For the outing, he allowed one run, a hit, two walks, two hit batters and five strikeouts in three innings. Singer struck out the side to end his final inning.
“I felt extremely uncomfortable with (the changeup) the first inning,” Singer said. “Felt better in the second inning with it. The third inning, I felt really comfortable with it. So I’m going to take that and run.”
Royals top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. hit his second home run of spring training in the fourth inning on Monday. Witt’s blast traveled an estimated 484 feet. He has now homered in back-to-back games. He homered on Saturday, and he did not play in Sunday’s game.
Catcher Salvador Perez, third baseman Hunter Dozier and first baseman Carlos Santana each also hit home runs for the Royals (7-2).
Whit Merrifield went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Kyle Isbel also went 2 for 3 with a double. Michael A. Taylor also doubled, and Adalberto Mondesi walked, singled and scored two runs.
“It was one of those fun offensive days,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Whit had a really good day. Mondi right behind him. Getting guys over. Exactly what we talked about yesterday, making sure we’re doing the little things and then the big things happen.”
Searching for sync
Royals outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler entered Monday tied with Witt for the most at-bats during Cactus League games this season.
Soler played in 43 games last season despite a pair of stints on the injured list last season because of a strained right oblique.
Coming off of a career year in 2019 that included leading the American League in home runs and setting a franchise single-season record with 48, the injury issues marred his production in the shortened 2020 season.
Soler slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight home runs, 24 RBIs, 19 walks and 60 strikeouts. He struck out in eight straight at-bats from Aug. 15-16, and came within one of tying the franchise record for consecutive at-bats with a strikeout held by Steve Balboni (1984) and Bo Jackson (1988).
Soler entered this week having gone 2 for 15 with a double, a run scored and five strikeouts early in Cactus League play.
“He looks healthy, but his timing is off,” Matheny said of Soler this spring. “It’s early March, so you would expect the timing to be off. He’s a guy that needs a lot of swings. Even during the season, he takes a lot of swings — just pure volume. … For him to feel good, he wants a lot of swings, high-intensity swings. That’s just him knowing him.”
Coach Billy Butler
The Idaho Falls Chukars of the Pioneer League announced former Royals designated hitter/first baseman Billy Butler will serve as the team’s hitting coach in 2021.
Butler, a first-round pick of the Royals in the 2004 MLB Draft, was an All-Star in 2012. He played eight MLB seasons with the Royals, including their American League pennant-winning year of 2014. He played for the Oakland Athletics (2015-16) and New York Yankees (2016) at the end of his career.
Idaho Falls had been an affiliate of the Royals in the Pioneer League, but this winter the Pioneer League got pushed out of the affiliated minor leagues and into one of several MLB “Partner Leagues” as part of Minor League Baseball’s restructuring under MLB.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 6:25 PM.
