For the second consecutive day the Kansas City Royals got a quality start from their starting pitching, but also for the second consecutive day it wasn't enough as this afternoon the Royals fell to the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers by 5-2 score.
Vin Mazzaro started for the Royals opposite Derek Holland, and pitched five innings giving up two runs on six hits. The two runs for the Rangers off Mazzaro came in the fourth inning, highlighted by a Mitch Moreland two-out sole home run. The home run for Moreland was his third of the spring.
The Royals got on the board in the fifth inning when Irving Falu grounded out, but the play allowed Jeff Francoeur to score from third to make it 2-1 Rangers. Francoeur, coming into the game hitless in his previous 25 at-bats, was 3-for-4 on the day with an RBI against his former teammates. Wilson Betemit also collected multiple hits for the Royals, batting 2-for-4 with a double.
After Texas plated a run in the sixth off Jeremy Jeffress, Kansas City drew back with one at 3-2, when Francoeur singled to drive in Billy Butler. Butler, not known for speed on the basepaths, stole his third base of the spring. Jarrod Dyson also picked up his seventh steal for Kansas City as well.
Joakim Soria pitched an inning a third before reaching a pitch count limit that brought Robinson Tejeda into the game. Sporting a new haircut (courtesy of Royals Live host Joel Goldberg), Tejeda gave up two runs on three hits in the eighth and ninth innings to extend the Texas lead to 5-2.
Mazzaro took the loss, while Holland picked up the win for Texas. Former Royal Brett Tomko pitched four solid innings of relief to pick up the save for the Rangers. Texas improves to 10-12, while Kansas City falls to 14-8-1 with the loss. A full boxscore can be accessed here.
The Royals will look to end their streak tomorrow against the Cleveland Indians, a team Kansas City defeated 6-5 on Friday.