2016 KANSAS CITY ROYALS Spring Training Game Notes Kansas City Royals (6-9) @ Cincinnati Reds (6-8-1) Tuesday, March 15, 2016 KC PLAYS LONGBALL IN WIN--Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Travis Snider all homered, while Yorando Ventura fanned six in 4.0 innings as the Royals powered past the ChiSox, 9-3, yesterday in Surprise...Gordon led off the bottom of the first with his second roundtripper in as many days and third of the spring... two innings later, Cain followed with his first homer in Cactus League play -- a two-run shot to left-center...KC iced the game with five runs in the seventh, which was highlighted by Snider’s three-run blast to right...Clint Barmes added two hits, while Omar Infante drove in a pair with a double in the seventh...KC’s pitching staff recorded 15 strikeouts, which included six by Ventura, who picked up his first victory...Joakim Soria followed the starter by striking out the side in the fifth as KC snapped a three-game slide. Upcoming Probables VS. REDS--Today marks the only meeting between the Royals and the Reds this spring as Today vs. Cincinnati Reds @ Goodyear Ballpark (1:05) Cincinnati’s only trip to Surprise Stadium is March 24 to face the Rangers...Kansas City swept a Ian Kennedy, Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, Danny Duffy (L) four-game regular season series from the Reds last season, winning twice at Kauffman and twice Ross Ohlendorf at the Great American Ballpark vs. GEE ADDED TO 40-MAN ROSTER--Kansas City made another roster move this Brandon Finnegan (L), Tony Cingrani (L), Tim Adleman, morning, selecting Dillon Gee from Triple-A Omaha, adding him to the 40-man roster...in J.J. Hoover, Keyvius Sampson, Layne Somsen a corresponding move, the Royals placed lefty Mike Minor on the 60-day disabled list as he Tomorrow vs. Chicago Cubs @ Surprise Stadium (1:05) recovers from labrum surgery last season. John Lackey, Carl Edwards Jr., Manny Parra (L), Jean Machi, ROSTER BREAKDOWN--After a flurry of transactions the last two days, the Royals now Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon have 45 players (including left-handed pitchers Mike Minor and Jason Vargas on the 60-day vs. D.L.) in camp...the roster includes 22 pitchers (5 non-roster), four catchers (one non-roster), Chris Young, Joakim Soria, Luke Hochevar, Brian Duensing (L), 12 infielders (five non-roster) and seven outfielders (one non-roster)...among the pitchers David Huff (L), John Lannan (L) remaining in camp nine of them are left-handed. Thursday vs. Los Angeles Dodgers @ Camelback Ranch (1:05) GORDY ON TRACK--After a slow start, Alex Gordon has enjoyed a tremendous week at the Kris Medlen, Kelvin Herrera, Dillon Gee, Ross Ohlendorf, plate, beginning with a 4-for-4 effort last Wednesday against Milwaukee...over his last four Peter Moylan contests, the three-time All-Star is 8-for-12 with three homers, four RBI and four runs scored... vs. overall this spring, Alex is hitting .409 (9-for-22) with an .818 slugging percentage...his three Alex Wood (L), Ross Stripling, Pedro Baez, Kenley Jansen, homers tie him for third in the Cactus League, just one off the pace of the league leaders. J.P. Howell (L), Louis Coleman EXTRA EXTRA!--Kansas City will utilize eight players from minor league camp for extra depth in today’s game...they include: left-handed pitcher Estarlin Cordero (#95), righty Clayton Mortensen (#57), first baseman/catcher Frank Schwindel (#85), catcher Chad Johnson (#92), infielders Humberto Arteaga (#86) and Balbino Fuenmayor (#99) as well as outfielders Alamani Fukofuka (#77) and Brandon Downes (#80). WE WERE HONORED--The club held its annual Minor League Awards Presentation Monday morning with six players and one executive honored for their efforts during the 2015 season...honorees included: Jonathan Dziedzic (Pitcher of the Year), Terrance Gore (Baserunner of the Year), Ryan O’Hearn (Hitter of the Year) and Bubba Starling (Defender of the Year), Elier Hernandez (Carlos Fortuna Award for improving English and work ethic) and Parker Morin (Mike Sweeney Award for best representing the organization on and off the field)...Burlington GM Ryan Keur also received an award as the most outstanding minor league employee. SPRINGING TO WORK AS THE WORLD CHAMPS--The two-time American League champion and 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals have 21 games remaining on their 2016 exhibition docket...KC’s A.L. crown last year gave the City of Surprise four of the last six American League championships, with the Rangers taking the title in both 2010 and 2011, the league’s last repeat winner...the Royals play eight more “home” games in Surprise Stadium, while there are three split-squad dates (March 18, 19 and 28) remaining...the five total split-squad days are four more than the 2015 spring slate possessed...this spring session will run through April 2, when Kansas City wraps up play with a pair in Chase Field against these Diamondbacks on April 1 and 2...last year’s club finished the exhibition season with a 20-10-1 mark before heading north to claim its first-ever A.L. Central crown, followed by a run through the ALDS, ALCS and then the first World Series title since 1985. QUICK TURNAROUND TO OPEN SEASON--For the first time in Major League history, the two World Series combatants from the previous season will meet to open the following year as the Royals will host the New York Mets for a segmented two-game series in “The K”...the season opener will take place on Sunday, April 3, when a national television audience will have the opportunity to watch via ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball at 7:37...the clubs will take Monday off before a “second” home opener will occur on Tuesday, April 5, at 3:15...the Royals will raise the World Series championship banner prior to the Sunday night affair, as well as present players with individual awards that were won in 2015 and then on Tuesday, each player and field staff member will receive their World Series rings. THE COMEBACK KIDS--In winning 11 games during the 2015 postseason, the Royals had to come from behind in eight of those victories, including an unprecedented seven comebacks from a multiple-run deficit...KC rallied from a one-run deficit in Game #2 of the World Series against the Mets, while coming back from two runs behind on three other occasions during the Fall Classic, capped by the two-run rally in the top of the ninth inning of the deciding Game #5, sending the game to extra innings with the Royals plating five runs in the 12th to seal the title...Kansas City also rallied from a two-run deficit in the deciding game of the ALDS vs. the Astros to advance to the League Championship Series vs. Toronto...the Royals came from three runs back in Game #2 of both the ALDS vs. Houston and the ALCS vs. the Blue Jays...the biggest comeback of the fall matched the same scenario of the 2014 Wild Card game vs. the A’s, as KC was down by four runs to Houston with six outs to go in Game #4 at Minute Maid Park, but plated five in the top of the eighth and two more in the ninth to get to a deciding Game #5 in Kauffman Stadium. WINNING WAYS--The Royals are coming off a 95-67 regular season and their first American League Central crown...the last division title won by Kansas City was the 1985 A.L. West, when the club parlayed that triumph into its first World Series crown...the 95 wins in ‘15 were the most by a KC squad since the 1980 Royals went 97-65...dating back to the start of the 2013 season, Kansas City has a 270-216 record for a .556 winning pct., the best mark in the American League and fourth most wins in the Majors behind only St. Louis (287), Pittsburgh (280) and the Dodgers (278). SPRING WORK--Kansas City is coming off a 20-10-1 exhibition ledger in 2015...the Royals have an all-time exhibition record of 657-598 with 38 ties for a .523 winning pct...the club has posted a 225-175 mark with 18 ties for a .560 mark in the Valley of the Sun...the Royals spent their first 34 seasons training in Florida, beginning with Fort Myers (1969-87), followed by a 15-year stint in Baseball City (1988-2002). A LOOK AHEAD IN 2016--KC will open its 2016 regular season at home for the second consecutive year, though the first homestand will be segmented to say the least...the Royals will battle the New York Mets on Sunday, April 3 and then again on Tuesday afternoon, April 5, in a rematch of the 2015 Fall Classic...Kansas City will then take two consecutive days off on April 6-7, before welcoming the Minnesota Twins in for a three-game weekend series...the first road trip of the ‘16 campaign will feature a stop in Minute Maid Park and a 4-game series against KC’s ALDS foe from 2015, then wrap-up with a three-game visit to Oakland...Kansas City’s Interleague work this year will be vs. the National League East, with the Mets (2), Nationals (3) and Atlanta (3) visiting “The K” while the Royals will travel to play the Mets (2), Marlins (3) and Phillies (3)...KC will also play the Cardinals in a 4-game home & home series with two in KC (June 27-28) and two in St.