2016 KANSAS CITY ROYALS Spring Training Game Notes Texas Rangers (1-0) @ Kansas City Royals (0-1) Thursday, March 3, 2016 CACTUS LEAGUE OPENER IN THE BOOKS--Kansas City dropped its 2016 Spring Training lid-lifter to these Rangers here yesterday by a 6-2 count...Jorge Bonifacio and Parker Morin hit solo shots in the seventh and eighth, respectively, cutting a three-run deficit to one...however, Texas answered with a Nomar Mazara’s three-run shot in the the ninth for the final margin...24-year-old righty Kyle Zimmer started on the hill and tossed a pair of scoreless frames, allowing just two singles while recording a pair of strikeouts...after today, KC will not see the Rangers again until March 18-19 in San Antonio as part of Big League Weekend at the Alamodome. WORLD CHAMPS GET BACK TO WORK--The two-time American League champion and 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals opened their 35-game Spring slate yesterday...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 Upcoming Probables and 2011, the league’s last repeat winner...the Royals play 15 “home” games in Surprise Stadium, including yesterday’s tilt, while there are five split-squad dates this spring (March Today vs. Texas Rangers @ Surprise Stadium (1:05) 7, 9, 18, 19 and 28), four more than the 2015 spring slate possessed...this spring session will Derek Holland (L), Jeremy Guthrie, Anthony Ranaudo, run through April 2, when Kansas City wraps up play with a pair in Chase Field against the Sam Freeman (L), Francisco Mendoza, Tom Wilhelmsen Diamondbacks on April 1 and 2...last year’s squad finished the exhibition season with a 20- vs. 10-1 mark before heading north to claim its first-ever A.L. Central crown, followed by a run Edinson Volquez, Miguel Almonte, Brian Flynn (L), Brooks Pounders, Sam Selman (L), Christian Binford through the ALDS, ALCS and then the first World Series title since 1985. Tomorrow @ San Diego Padres @ Peoria Stadium (7:10) SATURDAY SALUTE TO CHAMPS--The Royals will be recognized by the City of Surprise Yordano Ventura, Matt Strahm (L), Jonathan Dziedzic (L), here on Saturday for their 2015 World Series Championship...the Commissioner’s Trophy will Alec Mills, Peter Moylan be in attendance as well as Mayor Sly James from Kansas City and Surprise Mayor Sharon vs. Wolcott...the City of Surprise will also enshrine Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez and Alcides Colin Rea and Carlos Villanueva Escobar into its Hall of Fame for winning a Rawlings Gold Glove last year, while manager Ned Yost and the entire team will also be honored with Surprise Hall of Fame recognition. Saturday vs. Chicago White Sox @ Surprise Stadium (1:05) Carson Fulmer, Nik Turley (L), Josh Wall, Phillippe Aumont, QUICK TURNAROUND AFTER CAMP--For the first time in Major League history, the two Tyler Danish, Matt Lollis World Series combatants from the previous season will meet to open the following year as the vs. Royals will host the New York Mets for a segmented two-game series in Kauffman Stadium... Ian Kennedy, Danny Duffy (L), Ross Ohlendorf, Scott the season opener will take place on Sunday, April 3, when a national television audience Alexander (L), John Lannan (L), Brian Duensing (L), Aroni Nina 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 Sunday vs. Los Angeles Angels @ Tempe Diablo Stadium (1:05) Royals will raise the World Series championship banner prior to the Sunday night affair, as Chris Young, Dillon Gee, Chien-Ming Wang, Kelvin Herrera, well as present players with individual awards that were won in 2015 and then on Tuesday, Brian Flynn (L), Brooks Pounders each player and field staff member will receive their World Series ring prior to first pitch. vs. TBA 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. VS. RANGERS--Today is the second of five spring meetings with Texas...these clubs will meet in split-squad action on March 18-19 in San Antonio, TX, for Big League Weekend in the Alamo Dome, Kansas City’s first-ever visit there...the final spring get together will be on March 30 as spring training winds down with the Royals serving as the visitors...once the spring session is completed, the Royals and Rangers will meet for keeps on July 22-24 in Kauffman Stadium and then again the following week in Arlington with a 4-game set from July 28-31. REINFORCEMENTS--Kansas City will have a trio of extra pitchers from minor league camp in uniform this afternoon to assist with depth...they are right- handers Andrew Edwards (#77) and Kevin McCarthy (#96) as well as lefty Eric Stout (#21). 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 best in the Majors behind only St. Louis (287), Pittsburgh (280) and the Dodgers (278). DYSON DOWN--The Royals lost outfielder Jarrod Dyson yesterday to a grade two right oblique strain...the speedster will likely be sidelined for six weeks, which would include the opening of the regular season. ROSTER BREAKDOWN--The Royals open the 2016 spring season with 64 players in camp...the breakdown includes 31 pitchers (10 non-roster), 6 catchers (3 non-roster), 15 infielders (7 non-roster) and 11 outfielders (1 non-roster)...among the 31 pitchers in camp, 11 are left-handed...southpaw Jason Vargas is listed among the 64 players on the roster, but will open the year on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery performed last August. SPRING WORK--Kansas City is coming off a 20-10-1 exhibition ledger in 2015...the Royals have an all-time exhibition record of 651-589 with 38 ties for a .525 winning pct...the club has posted a 219-166 mark with 18 ties for a .569 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 3-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 3-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 their cross-state rivals from St. Louis in a 4-game home & home series that starts in Kauffman Stadium on June 27-28 and ends in Busch Stadium on June 29-30...Kansas City will be well represented in San Diego for the All-Star Game as manager Ned Yost and his staff will be operating for the American League squad for a second straight year. AT THE HELM--The winningest manager in franchise history, Ned Yost begins his sixth full season with the club, after taking the reins on May 13, 2010...he has a 468-469 regular season record at the helm for the Royals, surpassing Whitey Herzog’s previous team mark of 410 wins (1975-79)...Yost is the 16th full-time manager in franchise history and enters this year sixth among active managers is games (1,896) and wins (925)...this is his second stint as a big league manager after nearly six full campaigns at the helm for the Milwaukee Brewers (2003-2008)...he compiled a 457-502 record with the Brew Crew including a 166-146 mark in his last two seasons.