New-look Royals offense flashes its potential in first inning of a loss to White Sox
Opening Day remains two weeks away for the Kansas City Royals, and the lineup in the regular season’s first game will likely feature a few different faces than it did Thursday.
However, the first inning of Thursday’s game served as a snapshot of the revamped offense the front office spent much of the offseason piecing together. The Royals scored four first-inning runs after the first seven batters scratched out three hits, a walk and a hit by pitch.
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi started it off with a one-out bunt single dragged down the first-base line, and third baseman Hunter Dozier’s three-run double to left field did the lion’s share of the damage in that inning.
Ultimately, the Royals couldn’t hold on as they fell 9-7 to the Chicago White Sox in a Cactus League game at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
That inning gave a glimpse of what the offensive formula might look like this season.
“I think that’s kind of the team we have,” Benintendi said. “We have a bunch of new guys around those big boppers in the middle of the order, and our job is to get on the bases and create havoc and score runs when those guys come up to the plate. I think we take our walks, take our little singles, and things like that add up. … Things like that’ll translate into the season.”
With one out, Benintendi (1 for 3, walk, stolen base) reached on the bunt single. Adalberto Mondesi singled to left, and Salvador Perez took a pitch off the leg to load the bases. Carlos Santana drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the game’s first run.
After Jorge Soler popped out to the catcher in foul territory for the second out, Dozier lined a ball over the head of left fielder Eloy Jimenez to clear the bases.
“I think that shows you what we’re capable of,” Dozier said. “Benny did a great job getting that bunt down and getting on. Mondi getting on and just kind of moving the line. It works out for me when I’m hitting seventh. We had bases loaded with Soler and me.
“It’s fun. Those guys are going to get on base for us. We were able to capitalize. It kind of shows you what we can do, hit for power but also find ways to get on and score some runs.”
Michael A. Taylor doubled and walked twice, while Ryan McBroom and Perez hit two-out RBI singles. Jarrod Dyson also had a sacrifice fly for the Royals (12-5).
“You’re seeing a lot of little things,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “We had a number of walks. A number of times where we put the ball in play and kind of scrapped through an at-bat. I thought it was a really good representation of the kind of offense I think we’re going to be.”
Bumpy day for Bubic
Left-hander Kris Bubic gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. He also struck out two.
“It was kind of a representation of my spring as a whole,” Bubic said. “There have been some moments where I feel like I’ve got everything going pretty well. There’s some times when I don’t have everything. It’s a little bit more of a grind.”
Bubic also noted this is the fifth time he’s faced the White Sox in his brief MLB career between regular season and Cactus League play. Their familiarity with him didn’t do him many favors.
His changeup worked very effectively at times, but he had trouble putting batters away. He admitted he falls into the trap of being too fine in certain counts.
“For me it’s (important) to stay aggressive and attack at all times in the count,” Bubic said.
Top pitching prospect Daniel Lynch allowed two runs on three hits in three innings. He struck out four.
Bobby’s World
Top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. started at second base and batted leadoff on Thursday and went 1 for 5 with a run scored in his 14th Cactus League game of the spring.
Baseball America’s No. 16 overall prospect, Witt hasn’t played above the Rookie level in the minors, but he has impressed in major-league camp this spring.
He spent last summer at the alternate training site after having been invited to spring training 2.0/summer camp in Kansas City. He appeared in three MLB exhibition games last summer.
So far this spring, Witt has batted .289 with a .325 on-base percentage, three home runs, seven RBIs, two walks and 10 strikeouts. He has played second base and shortstop in games this spring.
An alternate alternate site
The Royals announced on Thursday that they will use Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Arkansas — the home of their Double-A affiliate the Northwest Arkansas Naturals — as their alternate training site during the month of April.
Between 20 and 28 players who do not break camp with the team as part of the 26-man major-league roster will continue to train there in advance of the minor-league season that will begin in May.
Last summer, the Royals used T-Bones Stadium (now Field of Legends) in Kansas City, Kansas, as their alternate training site during the MLB regular season.
“We are so fortunate to have a first-class facility such as Arvest Ballpark with the proximity to Kansas City to keep these players sharp after such a terrific start to the year during workouts and games in Surprise,” Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo said in a release. “We can’t thank Justin Cole (Northwest Arkansas general manager) and his staff enough for allowing us to continue our work in their facility as we prepare for the 2021 Minor League season.”
