Royals fall to Brewers 9-2 as Ned Yost offers possible preview of opening day lineup
Dillon Gee sparkled for three innings Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. He bumped up against a wall in the bottom of the fourth.
Gee allowed four runs in the fourth inning, including a three-run blast to Milwaukee catcher Martin Maldonado. The rally was the decisive blow in the Royals’ 9-2 loss to the Brewers at Maryvale Ballpark. It was not the last.
In his second start this spring, Gee filled in for right-hander Yordano Ventura, who allowed a run in six innings in a minor-league start Thursday while returning from a flu bug. Gee breezed through his first three innings, allowing only a walk. He blinked in the fourth, walking Domingo Santana and Chris Carter to put two runners on with two outs. Shortstop Jonathan Villar singled up the middle, scoring Santana. Maldonado followed with a three-run homer, a blast that Royals manager Ned Yost classified as an “Arizona homer.”
“That last inning, obviously, I lost my release point and was struggling with command,” Gee said. “But overall I’m healthy, and I felt like I threw the ball fairly well.”
The game soon turned into a rout. The Brewers tacked on a three-run homer off Kelvin Herrera in the fifth inning. They touched left-hander Danny Duffy for a two-run shot in the sixth.
The Royals’ offense, meanwhile, never stirred while showcasing a lineup that could be a preview of opening night on April. Second baseman Omar Infante started at second base while Paulo Orlando started in right field, joining the Royals’ usual group of seven regulars in the batting order.
First baseman Eric Hosmer pulled a solo homer onto the right-field berm in the top of the fourth. Reymond Fuentes ripped a solo homer to right in the ninth.
The Royals fell to 11-14 in the Cactus League. They will return to the road Friday against the San Francisco Giants, facing former starter Johnny Cueto at Scottsdale Stadium.
“You still can’t see the end, but they’re ready to go,” Yost said. “If it wasn’t for our starters needing another turn, we could go right now.”
The regulars
Shortstop Alcides Escobar, slumping for most of the spring, roped a double to left field, finishing 1 for 3. Left fielder Alex Gordon was 1 for 3 with a single.
The arms
Left-hander Danny Duffy continued what has been an adventurous camp, allowing two earned runs in an inning on Thursday. Duffy has allowed 10 earned runs in 10 innings this spring.
Up next
The Royals will face the San Francisco Giants at 3:05 p.m. Friday at Scottsdale Stadium.
Rustin Dodd: 816-234-4937, @rustindodd
Thursday’s summary
Brewers 9, Royals 2
TableStyle: SP-basebattersCCI Template: SP-basebatters
Kansas City ab | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. | |
A.Escobar ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .158 |
Barmes ss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .231 |
Moustakas 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .350 |
W.Merrifield 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .290 |
L.Cain cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .324 |
Fuentes cf | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .444 |
Hosmer 1b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
Mondesi ph-2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .323 |
K.Morales dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
C.Colon ph-dh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .158 |
A.Gordon lf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .325 |
E.Hernandez lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
S.Perez c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .238 |
T.Cruz c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .138 |
Orlando rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .220 |
Snider rf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .207 |
Infante 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
C.Decker 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 |
Totals 32 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
TableStyle: SP-basebattersCCI Template: SP-basebatters
Milwaukee ab | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. | |
Gennett 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .471 |
Elmore 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
A.Hill 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .162 |
Middlebrooks 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .189 |
Do.Santana rf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .444 |
Knebel p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
F.Morales p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Z.Jones p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Nieuwenhuis cf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .231 |
K.Broxton cf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .345 |
Carter 1b | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .375 |
R.Flores 1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
Villar ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .257 |
H.Perez ss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .220 |
Maldonado c | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .321 |
S.Peterson rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .174 |
Young Jr. lf | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .300 |
Presley lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .310 |
W.Peralta p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Pinto ph-c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .308 |
Totals 34 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 9 |
TableStyle: SP-basebyinningsCCI Template: SP-basebyinnings
Kansas City | 000 | 100 | 001 | — | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Milwaukee | 000 | 432 | 00x | — | 9 | 10 | 0 |
DP: Kansas City 2. LOB: Kansas City 4, Milwaukee 5. 2B: A.Escobar (3), A.Hill (2), Villar (2). HR: Fuentes (3), Hosmer (3), Carter (4), Maldonado (1), Young Jr. (1). SB: Infante (2), Gennett (1), Young Jr. (3).
TableStyle: SP-basepitchersCCI Template: SP-basepitchers
Kansas City | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
Gee L, 1-1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4.50 |
K.Herrera | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4.50 |
D.Duffy | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9.00 |
Lannan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.70 |
Moylan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10.29 |
TableStyle: SP-basepitchersCCI Template: SP-basepitchers
Milwaukee | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
W.Peralta W, 2-2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7.88 |
Knebel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6.75 |
F.Morales | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
Z.Jones | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 |
WP: W.Peralta. Umpires: Home, Ben May; First, Mike Winters; Second, Gabe Morales; Third, Carlos Torres. Time: 2:22. Att: 6,931.
This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Royals fall to Brewers 9-2 as Ned Yost offers possible preview of opening day lineup."