It is unusual for a pitcher to go three innings in his first spring training outing, but Zack Greinke did Friday. He easily could have gone four.

Greinke utilized just 27 pitches, 19 for strikes, in three scoreless innings against the Rangers. David Murphy's single on a hanging changeup with two out in the first was the only hit Greinke allowed.

"It's more getting up and down than anything," Greinke said in going out for another inning. "It's just not smart."

The Royals do not want do anything to jeopardize Greinke's golden arm after he won the American League Cy Young award last year with a major league best 2.16 ERA.

Manager Trey Hillman said that despite Greinke's low pitch total, there was no consideration of sending him out for the fourth inning in his...

Scouts behind home plate trained their radar guns on Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman as the left-hander prepared to throw. When the ball smacked the catcher's mitt, they'd glance back at the gun and find an eye-popping number. The left-hander hit 100 mph at least three times during his spring training debut Monday, throwing two scoreless innings during the Cincinnati Reds' 14-5 victory...

The Kansas City Royals got a glimpse of their future Saturday and had to like what they saw. Aaron Crow, a 2009 first-round pick, and Edgar Osuna, a Rule 5 draft pick from the Atlanta Braves, combined to throw three scoreless innings in their debuts as the Royals defeated the Texas Rangers 2-1 on Saturday.

This is a pitcher-catcher partnership that Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Rich Harden could like. Harden, in his Texas debut, pitched two innings of one-hit ball and Saltalamacchia and Matt Brown each hit a three-run homer, leading the Rangers to a 13-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. The Rangers pounded five KC pitchers for 21 hits in the spring opener for both clubs.