GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Eric Hosmer homered and doubled for the Kansas City Royals in a 12-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday.
Hosmer homered off starter Zach McAllister and later doubled and scored against minor leaguer Bryan Price.
"It's getting better every day," Hosmer said. "You try different things to see what works. Opposite-field hits shows you're staying on the breaking ball."
Omar Infante and Jason Donald also hit doubles for the Royals.
The Indians took advantage of an errant pickoff throw by Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie. Michael Bourn led off with a walk, then Nick Swisher singled and drew the wild throw by Guthrie to first. Bourn scored on the error, and Jason Kipnis had an RBI single.
Veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez, trying to make the Royals as a non-roster player, put Kansas City ahead 5-3 in the sixth with an RBI single.
Elliot Johnson, also a non-roster player, hit his second home run for the Indians. He singled in his other at-bat, raising his spring average to .429.
"The way he's swinging the bat makes it easy for him to stand out, but more important is what he does defensively," manager Terry Francona said. "If you're looking for a guy you can move all over the diamond, you can put him at short, you can put him at center. Those guys are hard to find."
STARTING TIME
Guthrie made his first start since March 3 against the White Sox. He pitched three innings in a minor league game March 8, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits. Guthrie set career highs last season with 15 wins and 211 2/3 innings.
Guthrie pitched three innings against the Indians. He gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits, three walks and a hit batter. Guthrie struck out five.
"I felt more comfortable at the end," said Guthrie, who allowed two first-inning runs. "It was a combination of my grip, release point, balance. I labored at first but got a feel for it as the game went on."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Infielder Alcides Escobar is day to day with a sore arm.
ON THE MARK
Justin Marks pitched two perfect innings with a strikeout for the Royals. The left-hander moved from Double-A Northwest Arkansas to Triple-A Omaha, where he made 20 starts last season. Marks was acquired in a trade with Oakland along with Vin Mazzaro for David DeJesus in 2010.
