Promising prospect Kyle Zimmer tossed two scoreless innings for the World Series champion Royals before the Texas Rangers rolled to a 6-2 victory over Kansas City in their Cactus League opener Wednesday.
"I'm excited to get the first one going and hopefully there's a lot more to come," said Zimmer, who is trying to make the big league roster after injuries stunted his rapid rise through the minors.
The Royals managed one hit, a double by Mike Moustakas, off Colby Lewis and the Rangers bullpen through the first six innings. Lewis is coming off knee surgery in October.
"We're just going out there and getting our work in," said Lewis, who walked two in the first to load the bases before escaping the jam. "Just trying to get into pitching shape."
Nomar Mazara hit a three-run homer in the ninth and finished with four RBIs for Texas. Patrick Kivlehan and Doug Bernier also drove in runs as Texas took the game from its campus co-tenant.
Jorge Bonifacio homered in the sixth for Kansas City and Parker Morin went deep in the eighth.
Chien-Ming Wang, John Lannan and Peter Moylan also made scoreless appearances for the Royals, who took the field for the first time since beating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"It's nice to do something different," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We've been practicing. We've been taking batting practice. Now we get out on a big diamond in front of a crowd and start playing again."
