Spring Training Recap – 2/29/24
Final Score: Royals 1 | White Sox 6
Overall Record: 5-3
Key Highlights
Jordan Lyles: I can’t believe I’m about to say this but Jordan Lyles looked solid today. His final line ended with 2.0 innings pitched, three strikeouts, one hit, one walk, and 0 runs. His only allowed hit was a single to Luis Robert in the bottom of the first. Anne Rogers reported that he had attended workouts at Tread this offseason to gain velocity on his fastball. We weren’t able to see too many of those as he was focusing on his breaking pitches in this outing. He seeks to secure the fifth rotation spot alongside Daniel Lynch and others.
Light-Hitting Bats: The offense could not produce any extra-base hits in this outing. The sole run came on a Luca Tresh single as he pinch-hit in the top of the 9th. It isn’t too much to concern yourself with, but something of note. Included in today’s box score are 12 runners left on base and a 2-8 slash line with runners in scoring position. Keep your eye on some of the young guys looking to prove it down the stretch. Being able to produce doubles and home runs could help guys like Michael Massey, Kyle Isbel, and Drew Waters stand out going into Opening Day.
Pitching Creates Outs, Fails to Avoid Strong Contact: The White Sox struck out 11 times but hit two doubles and a home run against the Royals. Only two of the six pitchers that threw today managed to escape giving up a run (Lyles and Cessa). Two others gave up multiple runs in their outings (Pennington and Anderson). Walks weren’t much of an issue so the run issues could be attributed to trying out new pitches or approaches. Alec Marsh managed to rack up four strikeouts, the most of any pitcher from both teams, but did give up a home run in his two frames.
Getting on Base: Even with the bats struggling to pop, the offense managed to walk five times while only racking up seven Ks. Four of those five walks came from guys who look to be on the Opening Day roster which bodes well for the major league club. Even when they were winning back in 2014-15 the team wasn’t known for getting their fair share of free bases. Moving forward into a new age of analytics, the team may be striving to change their philosophy a bit.
Maikel Garcia: He went 2-3 with two singles in today’s action, making him the only Royal to notch multiple hits in today’s game. It’s his second multi-hit game in Spring Training in 2024. Garcia is the only man to notch multiple hits in more than one game down in Arizona. He looks to start on Opening Day, but with enough of a performance from others, he may be moving across the infield to second base.
Next up for the Royals
The Royals head into March after an elongated February to face the Oakland Athletics on March 1st at 2:05 CST. LHP Cole Ragans is slated to start for the Royals, opposing A’s LHP Alex Wood. Wood put together a 4.33 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 97.2 innings pitched during the 2023 campaign. For the Royals, offseason acquisition Hunter Renfroe is slated to make his first appearance with the team. It was reported today that he has recovered from lower back tightness.