The KC Royals battered the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday afternoon, with a 16-4 win. It was the Royals first game against a team other than the Texas Rangers.

Can the season start already?

It all got started in the bottom of the first inning, when the Royals scored five runs. They put together five straight hits in that inning. The Dbacks came right back with three runs of their own in the top of the 2nd inning, all charged to Royals starter Chris Dwyer. He left with the bases loaded and Nate Adcock allowed all three runners to score (two on a single and one on an error).

But the Royals just kept on hitting.

They scored four runs in the 4th inning, with two coming on a Billy Butler double. In the fifth, the Royals scored five more runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Max Ramirez hit a grand slam. Adam Moore followed with a solo shot.

The Royals added two more runs in the eighth, with Willy Taveras driving in a run with a triple and Christian Colon following with an infield single.

After Dwyer and Adcock were done pitching (the third inning), it was pretty much smooth sailing for the Royals pitching staff. Noel Arguelles allowed a run in his two innings of work. Then the Royals bullpen followed with four perfect innings of relief. Juan Gutierrez started the dominance by striking out one in his one inning of relief. Blaine Boyer and Sugar Ray Marimon followed with an inning each, before Athualpa Severino struck out one in closing out the lopsided victory.

On offense, Chris Getz, Butler, Mike Moustakas, Jeff Francoeur, and Elliott Johnson all collected two hits. Frenchy also had an outfield assist, a run scored, and an RBI. Getz led off and scored two runs. Butler scored two runs and drove in three. Moose scored a run and drove in two. Johnson also scored a run and drove in a run.

The Royals finally head out on the road and away from Surprise on Tuesday, as they head to Goodyear to play Cleveland. Wade Davis is expected to start for the Royals with Yordano Ventura and Dan Wheeler expected to pitch in relief. The Indians are throwing a bullpen game, with Matt Albers scheduled to start. Closer Chris Perez, Bryan Shaw, and Scott Barnes are also expected to throw.

*Alex Gordon was scratched from the lineup with back tightness. The Royals were unsure if he would play on Tuesday.

Despite a four hit day by Jeff Francoeur and a solid start from Nate Adcock, the KC Royals lost to visiting Arizona 2-0.

Francoeur went 4-for-4, but the team collected just seven hits. The Royals went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Adcock, who was sent to the minors and recalled over the last few days, pitched well. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk over five innings.

DBacks starter Wade Miley was better. He allowed six hits and two walks over seven shutout innings.

The Royals dropped to 1-2 in Interleague Play, which starts up again in June.

With Bruce Chen on the mound, the KC Royals ended their three-game losing streak (all home games) with a 7-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Chen held the DBacks to just two runs over 6.1 innings. He allowed nine hits and two walks. The DBacks had runners on base in every inning but the 5th and 6th.

The bullpen was a little shaky again, but closer Jonathan Broxton was not. He quickly dispatched the DBacks in the 9th inning on just nine pitches.

Meanwhile, the Royals offense went to work against DBacks starter Ian Kennedy. Chris Getz singled home the first run on a single in the 2nd inning. In the 3rd inning, Billy Butler hit a two-run homerun. In the 4th inning, Mike Moustakas hit a solo homerun (he went 2-for-4 with three runs scored). In the 5th inning, the Royals scored two more runs, chasing Kennedy from the game.

Besides Moose on offense, Brayan Pena went 3-for-4 while Alcides Escobar went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

*The Royals have announced Sunday’s starter: Nate Adcock. He was recalled when Everett Teaford (who has yet to pitch since being called up) was put on the DL.

The KC Royals continue to struggle at home, as they opened up Interleague Play with a 6-4 loss to Arizona. They have lost the first three games of this five-game homestand.

With the score tied at 4-4 in the 8th inning, Kelvin Herrera allowed back-to-back singles (it was his third inning of work). Herrera was replaced by Tim Collins, who allowed a two-run double to Miguel Montero to break the tie.

Royals starter Luis Mendoza was staked to a 3-1 lead after Humberto Quintero doubled home two runs in the 2nd inning and Billy Butler homered in the 3rd inning against Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders.

At one point, Mendoza retired 12 in a row. But then he couldn’t escape the 6th inning. Chris Young, who just returned from the DL, capped the three-run inning with a two-run double.

*Both Danny Duffy and Blake Wood will have Tommy John surgery in the next two weeks. That gives the Royals three pitchers this season that have succumbed to the surgery.

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The KC Royals begin their 2012 installment of Interleague Play this weekend at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Usually the early Interleague Play games are supposed to be the so-called rivalry games, but I’m not sure how these two teams are rivals.

The DBacks have been a disappointment so far in 2012 (much like they were in 2009 following their 2007 playoff run). Their offense has sputtered, especially with Chris Young on the DL. The pitching hasn’t been great, especially the bullpen (which was their strong suit in 2011).

The Royals were playing alot better prior to being swept by the Baltimore Orioles the last two games, despite the struggles of key members of the lineup (Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, and Jeff Francoeur). Hosmer will sit for the second straight game (the Royals are facing their second straight left-hander and he is struggling mightily). Surprisingly, the rotation has been great and the bullpen (for the most part) continues to be the strong link.

Friday: Luis Mendoza (2-2, 4.76 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (2-3, 3.43 ERA)

Mendoza is back in the rotation, with injuries to starters Jonathan Sanchez and Danny Duffy. He struggled with his command at the beginning of the year and was forced to the bullpen. He did pitch well in relief of Duffy on Sunday (5.2 innings and just one run allowed to pick up the win).

Saunders has struggled since the calendar flipped to May. In his last two home starts, he allowed 13 runs (12 earned) on 19 hits (four homeruns) over just 8.1 innings.

Saturday: Bruce Chen (2-4, 4.34 ERA) vs. Ian Kennedy (3-3, 3.81 ERA)

Chen has gone six or more innings in six of his eight starts. He is also on a two-game winning streak.

Kennedy hasn’t been as dominant as last season, but has been solid. He has completed six innings in every start this season. He has been dominant on the road (just seven runs allowed in four starts).

Sunday: TBA vs. Wade Miley (4-1, 2.52 ERA)

Due to the overuse of the bullpen this week, the Royals have made moves on Thursday, including sending Vin Mazzaro back to Triple-A (he was supposed to start on Sunday). Everett Teaford could get the start, if he doesn’t pitch out of the bullpen prior. Or the Royals could call up another pitcher (like lefty Ryan Verdugo) from the minors.

Since moving into the rotation, Miley has been solid in five starts. He does give up alot of hits (25 hits in 18.1 May innings).

Doug Kerr/Flickr

Spring training at Surprise didn’t end the way the KC Royals wanted. They lost to the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks (who were playing split squad games), 10-3.

The Diamondbacks didn’t bring many of their big league players on the trip to Surprise, but that didn’t matter.

Both teams scored in the first inning, as AJ Pollock homered to lead off the game against Royals starter Danny Duffy. The Royals tied it in the bottom of the first inning on an Eric Hosmer single. It could have been a bigger inning, but Billy Butler grounded into a double play.

It wasn’t the outing that Duffy could have wanted (after he had a poor start his last outing). He allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits over just 4.2 innings. He threw 88 pitches, 54 for strikes. He also hit a guy and threw a wild pitch.

The DBacks scored four runs in the 5th inning, which chased Duffy. Granted, two of the runs he allowed came after he exited the game (Brandon Sisk allowed a two-run triple to Henry Blanco).

The DBacks had another four-run inning, which came in the 7th and against Jonathan Broxton. He got knocked around a bit, but the Royals also made two errors in the inning.

The Royals had 11 hits, but only Mike Moustakas and Mitch Maier had a multi-hit games (2-for-3).

Unfortunately, the Royals committed three errors, which cost them five runs.

*The Royals grounded into 3 DPs, giving them 27 this spring. DPs kill this team, especially considering they collected 11 hits, but scored just three runs. They were just 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Jonathan Sanchez had yet to really excel in a start for the KC Royals during spring training (though he pitched well in a Triple-A game). Saturday night he looked like the pitcher the Royals envisioned when they traded for him.

Pitching against his former National League West foes, Sanchez was pretty dominant against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He came out of the game in the 6th inning after his defense failed him twice on the same play.

The Royals were leading 3-1 with one out in the 6th inning when Sanchez walked Chris Young. Paul Goldschmidt then delivered a single, moving Young to third base. Ryan Roberts hit a ground ball that resulted in a fielding error and a throwing error, and cost Sanchez a run. It also ended his outing.

In came Jeremy Jeffress, who was greeted by a Gerardo Parra RBI single. That tied the game at 3-3. Jeffress would settle down and get out of the inning.

The Royals came right back to retake the lead against the DBacks’ Tyler Skaggs. With one out, Johnny Giavotella singled and Eric Hosmer doubled him to third base. A wild pitch by Skaggs allowed Gio to score. After a Lorenzo Cain ground out, Jeff Francoeur followed with an RBI double. Moose followed with an RBI single and the Royals were up 6-3.

Aaron Crow struggled in his one inning of work. He allowed two runs on three hits (to the DBacks’ minor leaguers) and a walk. It could have been worse, but Jason Bourgeois threw a runner out at the plate to end the inning.

So here’s Sanchez‘ line: 5.1 IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 3BB, 6K. He even picked a guy off. The walks are a bit high, but expected with Sanchez.

Every Royals starter had at least one hit (except for Chris Getz and Sanchez). Alex Gordon led off the game with a homerun. He went 2-for-3. Cain, Francoeur, and Brayan Pena each went 2-for-4.

*For more on the DBacks, check out Snakes on the Grass.

There’s not a whole lot to say about Thursday night’s KC Royals game. All of the runs (a total of eight) were scored in the first four innings by both teams.

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson continues his quest to make the All-Star team in his home ballpark. He allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings to pick up his 9th win, which is tied for the Major League lead.

Royals starter Felipe Paulino allowed five runs through the first four innings (at least one in each inning) to suffer the loss. He pitched eight innings (the longest he has gone this season). He walked just one while striking out eight. He retired 12 in a row before the 9th inning. Paulino left with two men on base and nobody out in the 9th. Everett Teaford and Greg Holland combined to pitch a perfect 9th inning. They threw just six pitches (Teaford induced a double-play ball).

The good news for the Royals? Teams haven’t learned their lesson yet about running on the outfielders. Alex Gordon and Melky Cabrera both picked up outfield assists. It was Gordon’s ninth and Melky’s 8th.

The bad news? The Royals did not collect a hit after the 4th inning and only had one baserunner reach after that (a throwing error by Ryan Roberts in the 6th inning allowed Billy Butler to reach base). The Royals scored a total of seven runs in being swept by the Diamondbacks. So much for the new lineup bringing more run production.

Things may be looking up for the Royals as they welcome the equally struggling Chicago Cubs into town for a three-game weekend series (though the Cubs enjoyed Thursday off). The Royals also welcome starter Bruce Chen back from the DL.

KC Royals manager Ned Yost shook up the lineup for Wednesday night’s game against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks and starter Ian Kennedy. It looked like this:

Via Dina Wathan Blevins on Twitter

Yost said that he envisions Alex Gordon as more of a run producer (a 3, 4, or 5-hole hitter) and hitting cleanup will provide him with more RBI opportunities. Yost said that Billy Butler deserved to hit in the 3-hole because he has the best average on the team.

So how did the lineup change pan out? Well, Melky Cabrera led off the bottom of the first with a single, but Butler grounded into a double play to end the inning (Gordon didn’t get a chance to bat with anyone on base in his first at-bat and only batted with anyone on base once).

Royals starter Jeff Francis was cruising until the top of the 5th. He had allowed just one hit prior to that inning. In the 5th, Francis allowed four hits as Xavier Nady doubled in one run, Willie Bloomquist followed with an RBI single, and Ryan Roberts’ sac bunt scored the DBacks third run. That was all Francis allowed over seven innings and he did not walk a batter.

Eric Hosmer tripled in a run in the bottom of the 7th with two outs, but Butler flied out to end the inning. The Royals went down in order against Dbacks setup man David Hernandez in the 8th, but started a rally in the 9th against closer JJ Putz. With two outs, Chris Getz singled. He then stole second base and Cabrera walked. With Jarrod Dyson inserted as a pinch-runner for Cabrera, Hosmer popped up to end the game.

Getz went 3-for-4 in the 9-hole while Cabrera and Mike Moustakas each collected two hits in the 3-2 loss. So the lineup change initially hasn’t made much of an impact. New lineup, same results…no clutch hitting.

It seemed like it was awhile ago that Mike Moustakas was called up to the Majors by the KC Royals. Well, Tuesday marked his first game wearing the home whites at Kauffman Stadium.

Things started out SO WELL for the Royals as they welcomed a National League West team into town, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Royals starter Luke Hochevar retired the Dbacks in order in the top of the first. Alex Gordon led off the bottom of the first with a homerun to give the Royals a 1-0 lead against Joe Saunders (it was the very first pitch he threw).

That lead held up until the 5th inning. Hochevar was cruising, as he had only allowed one hit through the first four innings. Wily Mo Pena hit a 422-foot BOMB to center off Hochevar in the top of the 5th to tie the game at 1-1. It was Pena’s first homerun since 2008 and the first homerun allowed by Hochevar in five starts. In the 6th, Justin Upton doubled in a run to give the Dbacks a 2-1 lead.

Then the bottom of the Dbacks order got to Hochevar in the 7th. Miguel Montero singled leading off the inning and with one out, Juan Miranda doubled to move Montero to third base. The 9-hole hitter, Gerardo Parra ripped a triple down the right field line, scoring two runs to give the Dbacks a 5-1 lead. The Dbacks would score two more in the 8th inning on Chris Young‘s two-run homerun off Everett Teaford.

Saunders allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings. Gordon had three hits off him and fell a single short of the cycle.

*How did Moose do in his home debut you ask? He went 0-for-4, lowering his average to .219 as he continues to struggle.