Bubba Starling hits an inside-the-park homer as Royals beat Rockies 3-2

Bubba Starling clubbed an inside-the-park homer to deep left-center. Edinson Volquez cruised through three scoreless innings. Paulo Orlando crushed his first homer of the spring.

The Royals pieced together another spring victory on Tuesday afternoon, handling the Colorado Rockies 3-2 in front of 5,816 fans at Surprise Stadium.

Volquez, making his second start of the spring, offered a glimpse of his best stuff, shutting down the Rockies offense for three innings. He recorded three strikeouts and needed just 37 pitches, safely under his pitch count of 45. His only blemish came when he hit Colorado’s Tom Murphy in the top of the second.

Volquez suffered through a shaky spring training last season, needing close to five starts before he stayed in a game long enough to reach his pitch limit. In two starts this spring, he has looked crisp. On Tuesday, he touched 95 mph with his fastball while showing command of his off-speed pitches. His manager offered his approval. Volquez joked he “got lucky.”

“I feel sexy right now,” Volquez said. “You know what happen when I feel sexy, right?”

Starling, meanwhile, registered the decisive blow in the bottom of the sixth, blasting a deep drive off the top of the wall in left-center field. The ball bounced away from two defenders. Starling glided around the bases for an inside-the-park homer, his first hit of the spring. The two-run homer stretched the Royals’ lead to 3-0 and left Starling winded and exhausted in the Royals dugout.

Third-base coach Mike Jirschele “was waving me around there, and I was about to die running around third,” Starling said. “But it felt good to get the first hit.”

Before the at-bat, Starling, a former first-round pick, had began the spring suffering through an 0-for-9 stretch. He has displayed signs of a smoother swing and a better approach at the plate. But he also suffered from a bout of nerves, Starling said. On Tuesday, he entered the game in the sixth inning.

“I’ve just been trying to slow my swing down, just slow everything down,” Starling said. “I feel like I’ve been anxious up at the plate. But once I can slow everything down, get my timing right, I think I’ll be all right.”

Earlier this spring, Royals manager Ned Yost said Starling was looking more “hitter-ish” in the batter’s box. In the moments after Tuesday’s victory, Yost said he remained encouraged by Starling’s progress at the plate.

“He’s been doing great here,” Yost said. “He’s seeing the ball, putting good swings on the ball, playing great defense. He’s doing a nice job.”

Orlando, who started in left field, opened the scoring with a solo shot to dead center field in the bottom of the second. The early innings, though, were marked by a deluge of honey bees, who descended on Surprise Stadium and prompted a short delay. A retired beekeper from St. Joseph, Lowell Hutchison, emerged from the stands and helped dispose of the bees. More than an hour later, the Royals improved to 3-5 in the Cactus League.

The regulars

With Tuesday’s game sandwiched between split-squad days on Monday and Wednesday, Yost offered days off to a number of veterans on Tuesday. Left fielder Alex Gordon, first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, shortstop Alcides Escobar and catcher Salvador Perez all had the day off.

Center fielder Lorenzo Cain started and went hitless in two at-bats before being replaced by Starling. Designated Kendrys Morales went hitless in three at-bats. Cain is 1 for 8 in a small sample. Morales has three hits in 10 at-bats.

The arms

Reliever Joakim Soria made his spring debut Tuesday, throwing a scoreless inning after replacing Edinson Volquez in the fourth inning. Soria worked quickly, needing just six pitches to record three outs. He didn’t throw a breaking ball.

“I need to keep working on my secondary pitches,” Soria said. “I didn’t have a chance to throw a breaking pitch this time. But eventually, we’re gonna get there.”

Right-handed prospect Miguel Almonte put up three solid innings, striking out four while holding the Rockies scoreless. He threw 42 pitches. His fastball sat at 94 mph.

Almonte is likely ticketed for the minor leagues, but he can cement his status as a coveted prospect with a solid spring. In five innings across two starts, he has allowed just one run while striking out seven.

Position battles

Christian Colon started at shortstop and went 0 for 1 with a walk. He has now reached base twice in six games while going hitless in 12 at-bats. His chief competition at second base, Omar Infante, is expected to serve as a designated hitter Wednesday before making his spring debut in the field on Thursday. On Tuesday, Raul A. Mondesi went 1 for 3 at the plate while playing second base.

Up next

The Royals will play two games on Wednesday. They will play host to the Milwaukee Brewers at 2:05 p.m. at Surprise Stadium and face the Seattle Mariners at 2:05 p.m. in Peoria.

Tuesday’s summary

Royals 3, Rockies 2

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TableStyle: SP-basebattersCCI Template: SP-basebatters

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DP: Colorado 1, Kansas City 3. LOB: Colorado 2, Kansas City 3. 2B: Story (1). HR: Adames (1), Starling (1), Orlando (1).

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TableStyle: SP-basepitchersCCI Template: SP-basepitchers

HBP: by Volquez (T.Murphy). Umpires: Home, Mark Ripperger; First, Alan Porter; Second, Tony Randazzo; Third, Tripp Gibson. Time: 2:12. Att: 5,816.

AP-WF-08-31-14 0338GMT

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Bubba Starling hits an inside-the-park homer as Royals beat Rockies 3-2."