When April came into sight, so did a sharp Edinson Volquez.
The Royals right-hander finished spring training on a high note Friday night, tossing four shutout innings in Kansas City's 11-1 win over the Astros in Houston. Volquez's performance came on the heels of another solid outing -- a five-inning, two-run start against the Cubs on Sunday.
The back-to-back strong showings followed a miserable start to the spring for Volquez, who failed to record more than 12 outs in any of his first four starts and ran his ERA up to 9.49. He's rebounded nicely, though, striking out 15 hitters in his last two outings (nine innings) after managing just six punch-outs through his first 12 1/3 innings.
Volquez, who signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Royals in the offseason, is coming off his best season in the majors, when he went 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA for the Pirates. He will follow Danny Duffy in the Kansas City rotation, with his first start of the year coming Thursday against the White Sox.
Eric Hosmer and Brett Eibner hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning to turn a two-run Royals lead into a 5-0 advantage. Eibner's homer was his sixth of the spring as he nears the end of his torrid streak with the big-league team.
Kansas City sent 12 batters to the plate as part of a six-run ninth inning.
3 UP
• Moose crossing. Mike Moustakas reached in five of six at-bats, walking twice and beating the shift thrice. He fought off an inside pitch from Scott Feldman and dumped it into left field for a single in the third, then dropped a bunt down the third-base line and past Pat Neshek in the eighth. He later doubled down the left-field line to score Jarrod Dyson.
Moustakas scored three runs out of the No. 2 hole, a spot likely to be held by Alex Gordon in the regular season. He also had a two-out delayed stolen base in the fifth that directly led to a Kansas City run.
• HDH returns. Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland pitched in order for the first time this year, shutting down the Astros in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. The three combined to form one of the best bullpen trios in major league history, each with an ERA under 1.45. The Royals went 72-1 in the regular season thanks in large part to HDH's dominance.
Herrera and Davis each posted a scoreless frame in Houston, while Holland gave up a solo home run to Evan Gattis in the ninth. Holland allowed a double and two walks, but recorded two strikeouts.
• Yost's first challenge of 2015. Royals manager Ned Yost won his first challenge of the calendar year when umpires overturned an eighth-inning call to end the frame.
With two outs and runners on second and third, Salvador Perez fired behind a distant Jonathan Villar at third. Third-base umpire Manny Gonzalez initially called Villar safe, before Yost challenged the call. Replays showed Moustakas' tag beating Villar to the bag and the inning was over.
Video review was not available in Cactus League stadiums but is in all major league stadiums, including this exhibition series.
3 DOWN
• Astros hitters. Not only did Houston batters score only one run, they also struggled to put the ball in play. The Astros struck out 15 times, accounting for more than half of their outs. They also had trouble with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 7 in such scenarios with five strikeouts. Royals pitchers retired 12 consecutive Astros in the middle innings.
• Rios' tough luck. Alex Rios' first two at-bats did not end the way he would have liked. In the second inning, Rios struck out on a check swing when he didn't think he offered at the pitch. His conversation with home-plate umpire Jordan Baker lasted a few steps toward the dugout.
Two innings later, Rios ripped a ball off the base of the left-field wall, which it short-hopped before bouncing over left fielder Colby Rasmus. But Rasmus quickly recovered and returned the ball to the infield in time to keep Rios to a long, loud single.
• Cain ends inning. Lorenzo Cain was caught stealing second base to end the third inning and one of the Royals' only early threats. Runners were at the corners with two outs and Eric Hosmer at the plate when Cain dashed for second. Jason Castro's throw was there in plenty of time and Jed Lowrie tagged Cain out easily.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Royals finish their exhibition season at 3 p.m. Saturday against the Astros in Houston. Left-hander Jason Vargas will start for Kansas City, which will head back to Kauffman Stadium for a workout on Sunday before Opening Day against the White Sox on Monday afternoon.
Collin McHugh will start for Houston. The Astros open their season on Monday in Houston against the Indians.
You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.
