Mike Aviles’ double, his eighth extra-base hit, and Yuniesky Betancourt’s triple accounted for a fourth-inning run and Brayan Pena singled for his 12th RBI in the fifth as the Royals lost their final Cactus League game 4-3 to Arizona.
Starter Brad Thompson worked three scoreless innings before giving up two runs in the fourth. Kyle Farnsworth had two scoreless innings and picked a runner off first. The Royals finish the Spring 14-12-4 and will play two games starting with one tonight in Texas against the Rangers. The Royals head home on Sunday for a workout at Kaufmann Stadium that will be open to the fans with gates opening at 2pm.
Good news for starter Gil Meche. He threw in a Minor League game on Thursday and felt no stiffness in his right shoulder. He’s thrown twice with no pain since pulling himself out in a game on March 22nd. Meche faced minor leaguers from the Seattle Mariners and worked five controlled innings. He threw 69 pitches, 36 for strikes, for a total 3 2/3 innings in which he gave up one run on four hits and three walks.
