Kansas City Royals lose 6-2 to Texas Rangers in spring training opener
Under a cloudless sky Wednesday afternoon, the Royals opened their Cactus League slate with a 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers inside Surprise Stadium.
Top prospect Kyle Zimmer started the game and threw two scoreless innings. Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and catcher Parker Morin, both reserves, crushed solo homers. But the Royals were done in after yielding a solo run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh.
Their fate was sealed when reliever Ross Ohlendorf served up a three-run homer to Texas’ Nomar Mazara in the top of the ninth.
Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson strains oblique in spring training opener
The most glaring loss came in the bottom of the second, after which right fielder Jarrod Dyson left early because of a strained right oblique. The rest of the Royals’ regulars, including left fielder Alex Gordon, first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas, played five innings before returning to the clubhouse beyond left field.
The Royals made several outstanding defensive plays. Third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert made a diving stop to start a double play. Balbino Fuenmayor made a diving stop a first base, and center fielder Bubba Starling ran down a fly ball in the right-field gap.
Royals’ Salvador Perez pledges $1 million to KC urban youth baseball academy
“Defensively, a lot of good things out there today,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
But the injury to Dyson could be the day’s biggest development. The Royals are expected to know about his status Thursday.
The Royals and Rangers will square off again at 2:05 p.m. Thursday.
Royals’ Eric Hosmer swipes right on Tinder and it’s magic
The regulars
Moustakas got the first hit of the spring season, a first-inning double down the right-field line. That was the Royals’ only hit until Bonifacio’s home run in the seventh.
The arms
Zimmer pitched two innings. The next seven pitchers got three outs each. No pitcher faced more than seven batters. Peter Moylan was the most effective out of the bullpen, striking out two of the three hitters he faced.
Royals' Kyle Zimmer on his first spring training start
Position battles
Catcher Drew Butera showcased some defensive prowess in the third, throwing out Texas center fielder Delino DeShields on a stolen-base attempt at second base. Two innings later, Butera gunned down another base-runner after pinch-runner Hanser Alberto tried to advance on a ball in the dirt. Tony Cruz, signed in the offseason, didn’t play Wednesday.
The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff contributed to this report
Rustin Dodd: 816-234-4937, @rustindodd
Rangers 6, Royals 2
Texas | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | |
DeShields cf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Jam.Jones cf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 |
Choo rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Mazara rf | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Fielder 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
I.Davis 1b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
A.Burg 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Ruggiano lf | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Kivlehan lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Moreland dh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Rua ph-dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Odor 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Ciriaco 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Andrus ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Alberto pr-ss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Chirinos c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
B.Wilson c | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
D.Robinson 3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
Bernier ph-3b | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Totals 35 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
Kansas City | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | |
A.Gordon lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Fuentes lf-rf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Moustakas 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
Cuthbert 3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
L.Cain cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 |
Starling cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Hosmer 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
B.Fuenmayor 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
B.Eibner dh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
J.Bonifacio ph-dh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
C.Colon 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
W.Merrifield 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
J.Dyson rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Snider rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
Gore lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Mondesi ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
R.Torres ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Butera c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
P.Morin c | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Totals 30 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Texas | 000 | 001 | 203 | — | 6 | 13 | 0 |
Kansas City | 000 | 000 | 110 | — | 2 | 4 | 1 |
E: Cuthbert (1). DP: Texas 2, Kansas City 1. LOB: Texas 6, Kansas City 5. 2B: Ruggiano (1), Alberto (1), Fuentes (1), Moustakas (1). HR: Mazara (1), J.Bonifacio (1), P.Morin (1). CS: DeShields (1). SF: Kivlehan, Bernier.
Texas | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Lewis | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
Tepesch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
Faulkner W,1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
Barnette | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Claudio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 |
Klein S,1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4.50 |
Kansas City | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Zimmer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Wang | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Lannan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
Moylan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Huff L,0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 |
Duensing | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18.00 |
Alexander | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Ohlendorf | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 |
HBP: by Moylan (Andrus). Umpires: Home, Pat Hoberg; First, Alan Porter; Second, Dan Bellino; Third, Carlos Torres. Time: 2:30. Att: 8,993.
This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Kansas City Royals lose 6-2 to Texas Rangers in spring training opener."