Spring Training has been kind to Christian Villanueva and Austin Hedges.
Villanueva and Hedges hit their third and fourth home runs of the spring respectively, leading a 20-hit Padres attack as they defeated the Royals 13-5 on Friday afternoon at Peoria Stadium.
Seeking a roster spot in a crowded infield, Villanueva is currently hitting 9-16 (.563) with three home runs and 10 RBI in spring training action. Meanwhile, after tweaking his swing in the offseason, Austin Hedges is hitting 5-8 (.625) with four home runs. He has homered in each game he has played this spring.
Six different Padres recorded multi-hit games. Along with Villanueva and Hedges, CF Manuel Margot (2-4), RF Wil Myers (2-4), LF Jose Pirela (2-2), and 2B Luis Urias (2-3) all recorded two hits apiece. It was the fourth time in five games that the Padres ran across double-digit runs.
RHP Bryan Mitchell started for the Padres, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out one. He was hit pretty hard in the first inning, giving up two hard hit fly balls that were caught on the warning track by Manuel Margot. In the second inning, though, Mitchell was much sharper.
LHP Danny Duffy started his first game of the spring for the Royals, throwing two innings. He gave up two runs on one hit and also walked two batters.
RF Jorge Bonifacio and C Salvador Perez homered for Kansas City, who suffered their first loss of the spring.
