Volquez sharp as Royals beat Padres; Mariners down other KC split squad
The Kansas City Royals won one and lost one in exhibition action Monday. One split squad defeated the San Diego Padres while another split squad fell to the Seattle Mariners.
ROYALS 11, PADRES 3
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Edinson Volquez tuned up for his start on opening day and a Kansas City Royals split squad beat the San Diego Padres 11-3 Monday.
Volquez gave up two runs and five hits, striking out four and walking two. His next start will be Sunday night when the champion Royals host the New York Mets in a World Series rematch.
"I think I get better in spring training," Volquez said. "Better than last year, the year before, the year before that. My ERA is better than last year. I haven't pitched good in spring training for a long time. It doesn't matter what happens here in spring training. I just try to move forward for the first game."
Volquez finished with a 3.95 ERA this spring after posting a 6.33 mark in 2015 and a 9.64 in 2014.
"He threw the ball really well, good life, good command, good breaking ball," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He's ready to go."
Lorenzo Cain and Whit Merrifield each homered and drove in three runs. Cain connected with Mike Moustakas aboard in the first and delivered an RBI single in the fourth. Merrifield led off the first with a homer off Drew Pomeranz and contributed a two-run double in the second. Dusty Coleman added a two-run homer in the sixth.
Derek Norris homered on Wade Davis' first pitch in the sixth. Davis had not given up a run in his first seven outings, covering seven innings.
Pomeranz is competing for the final Padres rotation slot.
"Obviously, I'd like to have another start, not have that be my last one," Pomeranz said.
STARTING TIME
Padres: Pomeranz surrendered two homers sandwiched around a single to the first three batters.
"I don't think it (the wind) had much to do with it," Pomeranz said. "The home runs they hit, they hit pretty hard. It's a bad pitch selection, I guess, early on for me. After the first three guys, I kind of settled in and started making some pitches, started pitching.
"I was out there throwing to the first couple of guys. I wasn't out there pitching yet. It's a trap you fall into in spring training, trying to work on something, but you have to get guys out."
Royals: Volquez, who threw 90 pitches, said he would like to take the same stuff, "maybe just a little bit better that that" into his first start.
"I would like to be more ahead in the count," Volquez said. "So I just want to stay aggressive and attacking those hitters, get more first-pitch strikes so I don't have to go 3-2 count all the time, like I did today to a few hitters."
MARINERS 6, ROYALS 4
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Robinson Cano hit a drive over the giant batter's eye in center field for his seventh spring homer, and the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 6-4 win over a Kansas City Royals split squad on Monday.
Cano also connected three times in Seattle's win against the Cubs on Sunday.
Nelson Cruz also homered for the Mariners, who trailed 3-0 through three innings. Cruz hit a solo drive in the fourth, and Cano went deep an inning later.
"Wow, that was a bomb," Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Cano's shot. "He's feeling really good right now. Seeing the ball great. His swing's on time and we just need to keep him right there for when we get to Arlington."
The Mariners open the season next Monday at Texas.
The spring game featured a matchup of No. 5 starting pitchers, with Seattle's Nathan Karns, named to the rotation by Servais before Monday's start, giving up two earned runs and five hits in six innings.
Karns got the outing he was looking for after a shaky stretch this spring.
"Much better. Felt like a pitcher out there. I was just trying to go in there and throw strikes, try to work ahead," Karns said. "Be ahead and try not to fall behind. I knew if I found a count where I had to throw a pitch over the plate I was able to do that, and I liked the results after that."
Kansas City's Kris Medlen pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs and eight hits.
"I felt really good the first three (innings)," Medlen said. "I changed fastball grips in the middle of my windup to Nelson Cruz, for some reason, I have no idea why. ... But yes, just missed execution. And then to get in a little bit of a jam and have to challenge Robbie Cano, 2-2, 3-2. You're not going to win a lot of those battles, really. They're two really good hitters."
Alcides Escobar tripled and scored twice for the Royals. Both teams committed two errors that led to runs.
STARTING TIME
Royals: Kansas City played its last split-squad game of spring training. Medlen won't pitch again in Arizona before the regular season.
"The pitches will be there when it counts and physically, getting up over 90 pitches, my body felt great," he said. "And yeah, anytime you finish a spring training game and you feel good, it's a pretty big comfort."
Mariners: Karns is scheduled to make his last spring start on Saturday against Colorado. He is on track to make his first regular-season start in the team's first series at home against Oakland.
Karns beat out left-hander James Paxton for the last rotation spot. Paxton made 13 major league starts last season, but was optioned to Tacoma earlier on Monday.
"We all know James Paxton is going to be a big part of our team at some point this season," Servais said. "We're going to need him, so let's get him in a good spot mentally."
Karns, new to Seattle after being acquired from Tampa Bay in the offseason, had kind words for Paxton.
"It's just a numbers game. He's a great talent. I know he'll be back up here before we know it," Karns said. "I just wish him the best. It's nice to have that kind of environment here where even though we were challenging and put in a position of competing against each other, we were still supporting one another. That was huge for me, coming in to a new clubhouse."
ROYALS MOVES
The Royals announced the release of pitchers Brian Duensing and Peter Moylan and infielder Clint Barmes from their minor league contracts Monday. The moves leave Kansas City with 34 players in major league camp, in addition to left-handed pitchers Jason Vargas and Mike Minor, who are both on the 60-day DL.
UP NEXT
Royals: Yordano Ventura gets his second-to-last tuneup before the regular season with a start Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants.
