Cain doubles, gets hit on foot as Royals fall to Padres

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PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) Lorenzo Cain doubled and scored before leaving as a precaution after getting hit on the right foot in the Kansas City Royals’ 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Cain took Ryan Buchter‘s 93 mph fastball off his instep in the fifth and went to the ground. The All-Star outfielder limped off, and then stayed in the dugout.

“There was some nerves down there that made it go numb on him,” manager Ned Yost said. “But by the time he walked out of here he was fine.”

Yordano Ventura allowed Matt Kemp‘s double while pitching two scoreless innings. It was his first outing since taking the loss in Game 3 of the World Series, the Royals’ only defeat before winning the title.

Kendrys Morales drove in Cain with a double off first baseman Wil Myers‘ glove in the third.

Rotation candidate Colin Rea gave up two hits in two scoreless innings for the Padres. He struck out Drew Butera with the bases loaded on his final pitch.

Cain’s departure provided the Royals with a second injury scare this week. Jarrod Dyson (oblique) was hurt swinging Wednesday and likely will start the season on the disabled list.

Paulo Orlando, the top candidate to replace Dyson in right field, went 1 for 3 with a strikeout.

Adam Rosales‘ RBI double off Peter Moylan in the eighth put San Diego ahead.

STARTING TIME

Royals: Ventura struck out Myers and threw 20 of 32 pitches for strikes as he worked on his changeup.

“My body, my arm, everything was good,” Ventura said. “Maybe next time I’ll throw more curves.”

Padres: Rea struck out two and threw 41 pitches.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Yost said Cain has a scheduled day off Saturday. … Dyson will rest another week before starting a rehab program.

Padres: RHPs Fernando Rodney and Kevin Quackenbush, both recovering from hamstring injuries, will throw live batting practice Saturday. . RHP Brandon Morrow (shoulder surgery) is eyeing a mid-March return to games. “He has not had any setbacks whatsoever,” manager Andy Green said.

KEMP’S RANGE

Kemp doubled the opposite way leading off the second and had no issues in right field. Kemp has focused on defense after he committed eight errors and ranked as the worst right fielder in the majors in 2015 according to FanGraphs’ advanced metrics.

“He’s been out with (coach) Tarrik Brock every single day pretty much working on his breaks,” Green said. “He’s trying extremely hard to cover that right-center gap. He felt like he was probably a little deficient last year in doing that.

“He’s working on his drop steps, working on his breaks and doing everything we’ve asked him to do.”

THE BALBINO

Royals first baseman Balbino Fuenmayor, a non-roster invite, ripped a single up the middle in the second inning.

The 26-year-old Fuenmayor, a Venezuelan, was playing independent ball two years ago. He hit .358 in Double-A and Triple-A last season before a July knee injury.

UP NEXT

Royals: Free-agent acquisition Ian Kennedy makes his first start Saturday against the Chicago White Sox.

Padres: RHP Tyson Ross, already selected as the opening-day starter, makes his spring training debut Saturday against Colorado.


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