GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Tyler Naquin homered twice and Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis also homered, powering the Cleveland Indians to a 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Naquin, the Indians’ first pick in the 2012 draft, hit his first two home runs of the spring. He also doubled and scored on an RBI single by Mike Napoli.

“Naquin’s doing everything he can do,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We’ll get to a point where we start to do some things. You don’t want to do them too early, but he’s done a really good job.”

Lindor and Kipnis hit consecutive homers in the first inning. It was the first for Lindor and third for Kipnis, who also tripled and scored in the third.

Napoli signed with the Indians to play first base and designated hitter along with Carlos Santana. Napoli is hitting .455 this spring.

Mike Moustakas homered and Reymond Fuentes singled with the bases loaded off Danny Salazar for the Royals in a six-run third inning. Salvador Perez had two hits.

Salazar allowed six runs, five earned, in 2 1/3 innings.

“Salazar had a rough day. I think he’s better than that,” Francona said. “I hope this doesn’t get in the way of his progression. We wanted him to go five. (Pitching coach) Mickey (Callaway) told him to go work on his legs.”

Kris Medlen allowed four home runs in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four.

“The center fielder (Naquin), the young dude they have has such a great swing,” Medlen said. “Every mistake I made with the heater was absolutely smashed. I tried to go down and away to him (Naquin) and he absolutely smacked it. Then I tried to go in and he absolutely smacked it.”

STARTING TIME

Royals: Kris Medlen gave up five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings and seven hits and a walk. He struck out six but allowed four home runs.

“I felt like my stuff was there,” Medlen said. “You don’t like to get tatered like that, but at the same you want to be aggressive. I was a little over aggressive at times. I was encouraged with my changeup. I threw 75 pitches and felt I had more in the tank.”

Indians: Danny Salazar lasted just 2 1/3 innings in giving up five earned runs for the second straight outing. He allowed five in four innings to Cincinnati in his previous start.

“I was getting the ball up, then some of the pitches went in the dirt because I was trying to throw strikes,” Salazar said. “I was being a little more aggressive. This helps me learn for the next time.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Jarrod Dyson has not appeared in a spring training game since March 2. Dyson has a strained right oblique.

Indians: C Yan Gomes was sent home with the flu. … OF Michael Brantley is sore after playing in two Cactus League games and a minor league game. Brantley, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, will get a couple days off to rest. … Lonnie Chisenhall played in a minor league game. He had tightness in his right forearm.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Dillon Gee is scheduled to start against the Brewers in Marydale.

Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer is slated to face LHP Clayton Kershaw Thursday night in Goodyear.

ROSTER MOVES

Royals: The Royals released RHP Ross Ohlendorf. … C Parker Morin, INF Orlando Calixte and INF Dusty Coleman were re-assigned to minor league camp. LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Brian Flynn were optioned to Triple-A Omaha.

Indians: Optioned RHP Felipe Paulino to Triple-A Columbus.

— Associated Press —

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kendrys Morales hit his first home run this spring, helping the Kansas City Royals to a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Morales hit a 2-run shot off Dodgers left-hander J.P. Howell over left field in a four-run fifth inning.

Morales also singled in the first off Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood, who gave up one run on four hits in three innings in his second spring start.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was pleased with Wood’s work.

“It was a productive outing,” Roberts said. “The ball was coming out of his hand really well. He mixed in some change-ups. He commanded the fastball.”

STARTING TIME

Royals: Right-hander Kris Medlen worked four innings in his third spring start, giving up one run on three hits and striking out four.

“I felt it was similar to my last start,” Medlen said. “I had to get used to the mound. I was able to make the adjustment. The hits I gave up for runs were strikes, on 0-2 and 1-2. I just tried to pound the zone.”

Dodgers: Woods was scratched from a scheduled start last weekend because of tightness in his forearm.

“It felt good, it was good,” Woods said Thursday. “I had one goal and that was to be efficient.”

Roberts said the Dodgers would probably break camp with Woods as the No. 4 starter behind Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda.

The fifth spot is still up for grabs, with Brandon Beachy, Mike Bolsinger and Zach Lee the contenders.

ROSTER MOVES

Julio Urias, a 19-year-old pitching prospect, was one of seven players cut Thursday by the Dodgers. He was re-assigned to minor league camp.

Urias had been in the hunt for the fifth spot in the rotation. But his inexperience led to mistakes in his two spring appearances. He gave up four runs on five hits over three innings. Still, his potential was evident when he struck out the first three batters he faced.

Other Dodger cuts were RHP Jose De Leon, RHP Yaisel Sierra, RHP Ross Stripling, LHP Ian Thomas, INF Micah Johnson and C Jack Murphy.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Jarrod Dyson (strained abdominal muscle) has begun throwing. There is no timetable on when he can begin hitting. He is expected to miss the first two weeks of regular season. . RHP Brian Duensing suffered a bruised ankle Wednesday in a 10-0 victory over the Cubs.

Dodgers: Howie Kendrick is expected to be back at second base Friday against the Diamondbacks. Kendrick, who was a designated hitter in a Tuesday game, is coming back from groin injury.

UP NEXT

Royals: Kansas City plays split-squad games Friday, one in San Antonio against the Rangers. RHP Dillon Gee is set to start against Rangers LHP Derek Holland. The other game is at the Royals’ spring home in Surprise, with Miguel Altamonte facing the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker in a match of right-handers.

Dodgers: Los Angeles travels to Scottsdale, with Beachy set to make his second start and his third appearance in spring against the Diamondbacks. Arizona plans to counter with RHP Zack Godley.

— Associated Press —

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Chris Young pitched four scoreless innings and Christian Colon snapped a 0-for-23 skid with his first two hits of the spring as the Kansas City Royals topped the Chicago Cubs 10-0 on Wednesday.

Young, who pitched out of a bases-loaded one-out jam in the fourth, allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five.

“The fastball command was really good, the slider command was pretty good,” Young said. “It’s my bread and butter, overall it was decent.”

Colon, who had not had a hit since his go-ahead RBI single in the 12th inning of Game 5 of the World Series against the New York Mets, doubled in the fifth and singled in the seventh.

“Really the mentality was, don’t think about yourself,” Colon said. “Sometime when you go oh-for so long, you start thinking I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to do that, but it’s just about the team. It’s always about the team. Everybody in the dugout was super pumped. It feels good to get hits, that’s for sure, no matter if they count or not.”

Reymond Fuentes, who is trying to earn a job as a spare outfielder, hit a three-run homer in the seventh and drove in Colon with a fifth inning single. Dusty Coleman hit a two-run homer in the eighth.

Cubs right-hander John Lackey allowed two runs on six hits over five innings, walking none and striking out four.

Royals left-hander David Huff inherited a bases-loaded, no-out mess in the seventh when Brian Duensing left with a bruised left ankle after being struck by a Javier Baez liner. Huff got out of it on three pitches on a Kristopher Negron popup and Arismendy Alcantara grounding into a double play.

STARTING TIME:

Cubs: Lackey threw 49 strikes in 66 pitches over five innings. “I think four was the plan, but the pitch count was pretty good, so we went ahead and fired another one out there,” Lackey said. “I felt really good about it. I’m still trying to establish a fastball, still trying to work on that. They are obviously a real good fastball-hitting team, so it was a nice test today for sure.”

Royals: In the first three innings, Young threw 21 pitches — nine in the first, five in the second and seven in the third. “You look at pitch counts, but the up and down, the rest time in between where you go in the dugout, you sit for five or 10 minutes and lose your sweat and you have to go back out and warm up,” he said. “That’s as taxing sometimes as the pitch count.” Young threw 26 pitches in the fourth and then went to the bullpen to reach 60 for the day. “I’m roughly 60 percent to where I need to be,” he said. “A few more outings and I should be able to get there. I’m more or less happy where I am.”

ON THE ROAD

A Royals split squad will play the Rangers on Friday and Saturday at the San Antonio Alamodome. The traveling squad includes 1B Eric Hosmer, C Salvador Perez, OF Lorenzo Cain, Colon and manager Ned Yost.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: OF Matt Murton, who had an appendectomy in early March, appeared in a simulated game Tuesday.

Royals: Duensing is listed as day to day with an ankle contusion. . RHP Edinson Volquez has arm fatigue and has been scratched for Friday’s game in San Antonio against the Rangers. . RHP Edinson Volquez has the flu and will skip his Saturday start. . OF Jarrod Dyson, who pulled his oblique in the first spring game, has begun running and throwing. “Getting there,” Dyson said.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Jason Hammel, who has thrown six scoreless innings in his first two outings, will start against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen will face the Dodgers on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Alcides Escobar doubled, scored and drove in a run in the Kansas City Royals’ 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Escobar opened the game with a double and scored on a single by Eric Hosmer against former Royal Brandon Finnegan.

The Royals’ Omar Infante also had two hits and scored with two outs in the fifth inning when Escobar bunted against a charging Adam Duvall, who played third base for the first time this spring.

Jay Bruce doubled home a run in the Reds’ two-run first against Ian Kennedy. Joey Votto had two singles and a walk, and has reached base in eight of his nine appearances. And Duvall, who is still in the competition for the Reds’ open left-field job, drove in a run with a single.

Kennedy pitched out of trouble and kept it close during his four innings.

“His fastball command was off,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “His command will come around. He did a phenomenal job of keeping it close.

Cincinnati’s Billy Hamilton had his first at-bat since March 2, bunting for a base hit.

“It was a blessing being out there with the guys. I’m a part of the team again,” said Hamilton, who’d been out with discomfort in his surgically repaired right shoulder. “That first inning went the way I wanted. What I love to do is run. If I can get on base I can make things happen.”

The Reds scored two seventh-inning runs off Danny Duffy.

“Danny stinks in spring,” Yost said. “When the season starts he’s pretty good. I don’t have to evaluate him. I know him. I just look back at his history.”

LOOK OUT, BUDDY

Finnegan, who came to the Reds during the Royals’ last-season trade for Johnny Cueto, had two hard comebackers knock his glove off.

After he hit Alex Gordon with a misplaced breaking ball, Mike Moustakas and Hosmer sent screamers back through the box. Moustakas knocked his glove off of Finnegan’s hand and Hosmer’s caught him on the palm of his right hand.

“I couldn’t react in time,” Finnegan said of Hosmer’s hit. “I couldn’t react to it. He got a good piece of it but luckily I got him out. Hos and I are real close.”

STARTING TIME

Royals: Kennedy pitched four innings, allowing seven hits and two runs. “It’s a good sign when you do that without your best stuff,” Yost said. “All in all he did a good job to limit the damage.” Kennedy, who spent last season with San Diego, is one of nine pitchers to make 30 or more starts in six straight seasons.

Reds: Finnegan had his longest outing of the spring with 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out four. “It was a thousand times better than the last time,” said Finnegan, who gave up two runs in 2 2/3 innings to Colorado during his last game. “Everything was working. I was spotting my fastball. My change-up was really good today.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: The Royals moved LHP Mike Minor to the 60-day disabled list to make room for RHP Dillon Gee, whose contract the Royals selected from Triple A Omaha. Gee had a clause that allowed him to be a free agent if he was not on the 40-man roster by today.

Reds: An MRI revealed that RHP Michael Lorenzen has a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament and tendonitis in his elbow but no structural damage. He will be re-examined by Dr. Timothy Kremchek on Thursday. … OF Billy Hamilton (shoulder) and OF Kyle Wadrop (groin) shared designated hitting duties against the Royals. … C Devin Mesoraco (hip and quad) will play in his first spring game on Thursday against the Cleveland Indians.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Chris Young will start for the Royals when they host RHP John Lackey and the Cubs.

Reds: The Reds travel to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in a night game and will start RHP Jon Moscot against LHP Patrick Corbin.

— Associated Press —

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon and Travis Snider homered as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 9-3 Monday.

Cain hit his first spring home run in the third off Jacob Turner after Mike Moustakas walked.

Gordon homered on a 0-2 pitch from Turner to lead off the first. Gordon is 8 for 12 with three home runs and four RBI in his past four games. Snider ripped a three-run shot in the Royals’ five-run seventh.

Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura struck out six in four innings, allowing one run and three hits.

“It feels good this time of year to have a good feel for your pitches,” Ventura said.

Turner, who was limited to two minor league starts last season because of an elbow injury, allowed three runs and six hits in three innings.

“I left a pitch up to Gordon,” Turner said. “That home run to Cain, I was trying to go down and away and it just kind of ran back over the middle on me. I definitely need to execute that fastball down a little bit better.”

Jason Coats homered for the White Sox.

STARTING TIME

White Sox: Turner is 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA in three starts, allowing nine runs on 13 hits, including four homers, and four walks in 7 2/3 innings. “The stuff has been pretty good,” Turner said. “The execution has been a little bit disappointing at times, especially out of the stretch. Coming off the injury, I’m happy to be pitching, happy to be competing. I do feel like I’ve executed a lot of good pitches. Every time I go out there and pitch, I’m not trying to give up any runs if it’s spring training or Game 7 of the World Series. Every time I pitch, I’m trying to get good results and also execute pitches.”

Royals: Ventura struck out the side on 13 pitches in the first inning. “All of them were changeups,” he said. “I was working on and making sure I stayed through it and it was working.” He also wriggled out of a bases loaded one-out jam in the fourth.

A SALE JOB

White Sox LHP Chris Sale pitched in a B-game against Dodgers. Sale threw 75 pitches in 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, two walks and a hit batter, while striking out four.

ROYALS TRIM 19

The Royals optioned RHP Kyle Zimmer, a 2012 first-round draft pick, and OF Jose Martinez, who led the Pacific Coast League with a .384 batting average last season, to Triple-A Omaha as the club made 19 roster moves. The Royals have 44 players still in camp.

Kansas City also optioned RHP Miguel Almonte, 1B Cheslor Cuthbert and OF Brett Eibner to Omaha. The team optioned OFs Bubba Starling and Jorge Bonifacio, LHP Matt Strahm, RHP Alec Mills and INF Ramon Torres to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

The Royals assigned nine non-roster invitees to minor league camp.

STILL HITLESS

2B Christian Colon went 0 for 3 and is hitless in 22 at-bats. “I can think of about five or six that I’ve hit well, but no luck,” Colon said. “It just trickles down and keeps going. I’ll be fine. When the lights come on, I’ll be ready.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: C Dioner Navarro, who fouled a ball off his left ankle Sunday, did not play.

UP NEXT

White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana will start against the Dodgers.

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy will face the Reds, who will counter with LHP Brandon Finnegan, a 2014 Kansas City first-round pick who was a member of the Royals’ bullpen in the 2014 World Series.

— Associated Press —