Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
MLB Scores Matchups Teams Standings
 
 · Regular Season
Schedules Injuries News
 
 · Latest News
 · Player Updates
 · Transactions
Buy Picks Vegas Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Recap: Athletics 3, Royals 8
Line Movements  •  BT Movements
Game: 1
Venue: Surprise Stadium
Date: March 21, 2012 4:05 PM EDT
  

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) - Luis Mendoza became the second Kansas City Royals pitcher to be led off the mound by a trainer in four games.

Mendoza was removed in the second inning after being struck in the left leg by a Brandon Allen single as the Royals defeated the Oakland Athletics 8-3 Wednesday.

Advertisement

Oakland was playing its last game in Arizona before leaving for Tokyo, where the A's meet Seattle in an opening two-game series next Wednesday and Thursday.

``It's just sore right now,' Mendoza said. ``I was scared because it really hurt. It was a hard ground ball, but it hit my hamstring, it hit muscle in the back of my leg. Right now, I'm glad it's nothing serious. It was a big bruise.'

Royals closer Joakim Soria exited Sunday with ligament damage in his elbow. He is taking a few days to consider his options after receiving a second opinion. Soria has damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He had reconstructive elbow surgery in 2003 to replace the same ligament.

``No more,' Mendoza said of pitchers leaving prematurely for the trainer's room.

Mendoza is 4-0 with a 0.77 ERA, giving up one run in 11 2-3 innings this spring.

``The ball got him on the back of the knee, a real meaty part,' Royals manager Ned Yost said. ``It's just a bruise. It hit him pretty good. It's not something to continue with at this point of the year. You don't want to take a chance of it swelling or him altering his mechanics at all because he's throwing the ball so well.'

Yost said Mendoza remains ``definitely right in the mix' as a rotation candidate.

Lorenzo Cain, who tops the Cactus League with a .500 batting average, homered to lead off the second inning. Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer each had two hits and drove in a run for the Royals, who won for the fifth time in six games. Max Ramirez contributed a two-run pinch single in the sixth to up his RBI total to 11 in 13 games.

A's right-hander Graham Godfrey gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in three innings, throwing only 37 strikes in 75 pitches.

``Not very good,' Godfrey said of his location. ``That's one thing I talked with Curt (Young, pitching coach) about. Typically I fill the zone up, throw a lot of strikes. Today was almost the opposite. It's good to have that kind of outing now, learn from it and make sure that doesn't happen again.'

Godfrey was familiar with Cain, who he faced last year when both were in the Pacific Coast League. Cain homered on a 3-1 pitch.

``He's a good hitter,' Godfrey said. ``This spring he's been doing pretty well. He was one of the guys I had to be careful of last year. It was a case where I was working behind a lot of hitters. I don't want to walk anybody. I gave him a cookie and he did what he's supposed to do with it.'

Godfrey worked out of a bases loaded jam in the third, retiring Cain on a fielder's choice to end the inning.

``I thought I made some good pitches when I needed to,' Godfrey said. ``Sometime it worked out for me. Other times there was a broken bat flare where nobody was playing. I try not to be so result-oriented, but obviously it wasn't the result I wanted, but most of the pitches were kind of where I wanted them. There were some good things and some bad things mixed with a little bad luck I thought.'

Minor leaguer Cedric Hunter homered for the A's in the seventh.

NOTES: A's 3B Scott Sizemore had surgery Wednesday to repair a left knee ligament tear and will miss the season. Sizemore hit 11 home runs with 52 RBIs in 93 games last season with Oakland after being acquired in a trade with Detroit. He injured the knee last month in the A's first full-squad workout. . Yost said C Humberto Quintero and OF Jason Bourgeois, who were scheduled to arrive Wednesday night after being acquired in a trade with Houston, would be in the Royals lineup Thursday.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 CLOSING LAS VEGAS LINE
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 OAK  -130   +135    
 KAN  +110   -155   
LAS VEGAS LINE MOVEMENTS

 CLOSING SPORTSBOOK LINE
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 OAK         
 KAN        
OFFSHORE LINE MOVEMENTS

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 OAK  n/a   n/a   n/a 
 KAN  n/a   n/a   n/a 
BT MOVEMENTS

 MLB RECAPS
 Wednesday, Mar 21
 
  •  Blue Jays at Orioles
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Twins at Tigers
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Braves at Nationals
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Red Sox at Pirates
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Mets at Cardinals
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Yankees at Rays
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Athletics at Royals
4:05 PM EDT
  •  White Sox at Mariners
4:05 PM EDT
  •  Padres at Dodgers
4:05 PM EDT
  •  Brewers at Diamondbacks
4:10 PM EDT
 
 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: June 03 - Aug 07

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.