Royals lose to Rangers on walk-off homer in the ninth

In any other baseball stadium in America — at least, any outside of the Little League’s jurisdiction — Salvador Perez’s second-inning liner off Texas starter Derek Holland would have stayed in the field of play.

Use your imagination. Perhaps it would have bounced up against the right-field fence for a double. Or landed softly in the right-fielder’s glove. Or skidded safely on a patch of turf. But here on Friday night, inside the cavernous Alamodome, a venue built for football and Final Fours, the baseball left the bat of Perez and screamed into the right field seats, some 300 feet from home plate.

It was an unorthodox home run, and it was representative of Friday evening. As the calendar pushed toward opening day, the Royals fell to the Texas Rangers 7-5 in a spring training exhibition played in a building not quite equipped for baseball.

Utility man Whit Merrifield broke a 4-4 deadlock with a solo homer to right-center in the top of the ninth. But the Rangers' Lewis Brinson struck back with a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth off Royals reliever John Lannan.

The long ball was prevalent on Friday. Paulo Orlando added another solo shot in the second off the left-handed Holland, a more prodigious blast into the seats in right field. The Royals tacked on single runs in the third and fourth innings. Right-hander Dillon Gee allowed two runs in five innings while making his first start of the spring.

This scheduled trip to Texas served to break up the monotony of Cactus League baseball and offer another spring showcase for the defending world champions. As a group of Royals remained in Surprise, Ariz. — and edged the Los Angeles Angels 7-4 in a split-squad game — manager Ned Yost brought a group to San Antonio to face the Rangers in their annual exhibition games here.

The setting was hardly standard. The right-field foul pole stood 272 feet from home plate, while the power alley in right-center was approximately 320 feet away, before jutting out to 415 feet in dead center and 350 feet in left.

Despite the hitter-friendly confines, the Royals kept the Rangers in check for six innings. Gee worked five efficient innings while inducing plenty of hard contact on the ground. His only wobble came in the bottom of the third, when he allowed two runs on three singles and a defensive misplay in left field.

The Rangers’ Jared Hoying tied the score at 4-4 in the seventh, crushing a two-run homer to deep off Royals reliever Brian Flynn, who had entered the game in the sixth.

Earlier Friday, the Royals had handled the Angels in Surprise, offering a stage for a host of top prospects. Raul Mondesi had two hits. Bubba Starling had a double. Right-hander Miguel Almonte allowed one run on three hits in four innings with a pair of strikeouts.

“I thought his stuff was real good,” bench coach Don Wakamatsu said of Almonte. “He had inconsistent release point, struggled a little bit early, hid tempo wasn’t real good. From the second inning on, he was pretty dang good, and ended up limiting the damage, made some real good pitches with the double plays.”

Cody Decker added a solo homer in the sixth inning and Frank Schwindel had a two-run shot in the eighth. The bullpen tossed four shutout innings, with Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar both throwing one frame.

Peter Moylan gave up a three-run homer in the ninth inning.

DUENSING IS FINE: Left-hander Brian Duensing, who was hit in the ankle by a batted ball in a 10-0 win over the Cubs on Wednesday, said he had no ill effects and was expected to pitch in Saturday’s split-squad game against Seattle.

The Regulars

Center fielder Lorenzo Cain line two sharp singles to center field, including one that plugged the gap in right-center. In most stadiums, the hit would have resulted in extra bases. But Cain was limited to a single with the short porch in right.

Position battles

Christian Colon continued his recent surge after a dismal start this spring. Colon finished 3 for 4 and raised his average to .172 after starting the spring 0 for 23.

Up Next

The Royals will finish a two-game set against the Rangers at 2 p.m. tomorrow in San Antonio. They will also play host to the Mariners at Surprise Stadium at3:05 p.m.

Friday’s second game

Rangers 7, Royals 5

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DP:Kansas City 3, Texas 1. LOB: Kansas City 8, Texas 4. 2B: Stubbs (1). HR: W.Merrifield (1), S.Perez (1), Orlando (2), Brinson (1), J.Hoying (1).

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WP:Lannan, F.Mendoza. Umpires: Home, Adrian Johnson; First, Lance Barrett; Second, Tripp Gibson; Third, Anthony Johnson. Time: 2:33. Att: 27,536 (20,557).

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 9:53 PM with the headline "Royals lose to Rangers on walk-off homer in the ninth."