Final Score: Royals 1 | Angels 0
Overall Spring Record: 2-1
Key Highlights
Cole Ragans: The Royals are now 2-1 in Cactus League play this spring after defeating the Angels 1-0 in Sunday’s contest. Kansas City’s presumptive ace, Cole Ragans, made his first appearance of spring training and picked up right where he left off last season. He hit triple digits and otherwise sat in the upper 90s for much of the day. The lefty flamethrower got in two innings of work, striking out five. He did not walk a batter or allow a run but did surrender three scattered hits.
Scoreless Spring Debuts: Behind Ragans, a handful of arms made their spring debuts for Kansas City. Nick Anderson, Jonathan Bowlan, Chandler Champlain, Beck Way, Andrew Hoffmann, and Jacob Wallace all pitched at least a full scoreless inning. Bowlan, who made a brief MLB debut last season, pitched the fourth and fifth innings. He didn’t allow a single hit, walked one, and struck out one en route to the win. Jacob Wallace came away with the save in this one. In the ninth inning, he allowed a hit and walked another batter, but was able to hold the Halos scoreless.
Quiet offense, but no worries: The Royals’ offense finished the day 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. They left five men on base but were able to score a run in the fifth inning — sort of. The run scored on a wild pitch from Angels reliever Kelvin Caceres. Freddy Fermin scored after reaching base via walk. In all, the Royals’ lineup pieced together just five hits and walked once, while striking out eight times.
Javier Vaz: Javier Vaz took over for Nelson Velázquez late Sunday in left field. At the plate, he finished 0/1 but still came away with perhaps the most impressive play of the spring thus far. With two outs in the ninth inning, Jacob Wallace allowed a deep, slicing fly ball to left field. The ball would’ve landed foul and been rather harmless to the Royals’ chances. However, Javi Vaz had other ideas. He took a great route to the ball and made a diving play to snag the foul ball. The catch sealed the victory for Kansas City, and even the Angels fans in attendance were impressed.
Next up for the Royals
The Royals continue their Cactus League slate on Monday against the Chicago Cubs. The game takes place at 2:05 CST. RHP Seth Lugo will get the start for Kansas City in what will be his Royals debut. The Cubs send RHP Hayden Wesneski to the mound. The 26-year-old had a 5.48 FIP last season for Chicago over 89.1 IP.