Royals split squads win two

Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosner, right, has a good laugh with starting pitcher Yordano Ventura after Ventura finished three innings of scoreless pitching in a spring training baseball game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, March 11, 2015, in Surprise, Ariz.
Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosner, right, has a good laugh with starting pitcher Yordano Ventura after Ventura finished three innings of scoreless pitching in a spring training baseball game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, March 11, 2015, in Surprise, Ariz.

Ventura pitches 3 scoreless innings, leads Royals to win

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) - Yordano Ventura worked three scoreless innings, Lorenzo Cain had a pair of RBI singles and a Kansas City Royals split squad defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 Wednesday.

Ventura threw 54 pitches, giving up four singles, walking one and striking out three.

Cain, who was MVP of the American League Championship Series when he hit .533, singled home Gabriel Noriega with hits in the first and fifth innings.

Brandon Morrow, who is competing for the fifth slot in the Padres' rotation, gave up a run on four hits while striking out four in three innings.

Cameron Maybin doubled and scored on Will Venable's two-out single in the fifth inning. Cody Decker hit a two-run homer in the eighth.

Kratz homers off Cingrani, Royals beat Reds 5-2

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) - Erik Kratz homered off left-hander Tony Cingrani, who is trying to win one of the openings in Cincinnati's rotation, and the split-squad Kansas City Royals beat the Reds 5-2 on Wednesday.

Cingrani, coming off shoulder problems last season, gave up three hits and a walk in three innings, including Kratz's solo homer.

Left-hander Paul Maholm started for Cincinnati and allowed one hit in three scoreless innings, strengthening his bid for one of the three opening spots in the rotation. The Royals' Jorge Bonifacio hit a two-run homer off reliever Sam LeCure in the eighth.

Joey Votto had a sacrifice fly off Joe Blanton, who gave up four hits and a run in three innings. Votto is working back from a thigh injury that sidelined him most of last season.