TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels are expecting big things from Ervin Santana again this season.
The right-hander recorded four outs in his first spring start Thursday, allowing two runs and two hits in the Angels’ 8-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
“Ervin had a good downward angle on his pitches,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “It was a good workout for him (but) his pitch count was a little bit high.”
Santana went 17-10 with a 3.92 ERA last season, setting career highs for wins, complete games (four) and innings (222 2-3). He figures to be Los Angeles’ No. 3 starter this year behind Jered Weaver and Dan Haren.
Santana walked one and struck out one against the Royals, finishing with 38 pitches.
Mitch Maier went 4 for 4 with two RBIs for Kansas City, which finished with 11 hits. Kila Ka’aihue had two hits and drove in a run.
“Mitch Maier was the star of the game,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Kyle Davies worked two innings in his second spring start for Kansas City. The right-hander allowed two runs and two hits.
“The off-speed stuff has been pretty good so far,” said Davies, who was 8-12 with a 5.34 ERA in 32 starts for the Royals in 2010. “I commanded my delivery pretty good. I commanded the baseball very good. There were a couple of pitches that got away.”
Royals closer Joakim Soria made his first spring appearance, striking out two in a scoreless inning.

Giants 7, Rockies 5
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.  — Buster Posey hit a two-run homer to help the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies.
Darren Ford also homered and Ryan Vogelsong threw three hitless innings for the Giants.
Jorge De La Rosa allowed four runs and six hits over three innings in his first spring start for the Rockies.

Phillies 2, Red Sox 0
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Cole Hamels pitched one-hit ball over four innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox in a spring-training matchup of teams favored to reach the World Series.
Hamels struck out three and walked one.
Reliever Bobby Jenks, in his first season with the Red Sox, made his spring training debut. He gave up a leadoff double to Shane Victorino in the fifth.

Brewers 11, Athletics 9
PHOENIX — Trevor Cahill did a bit better in his second spring start for Oakland, but the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Athletics in a game of home run derby.
In his first outing last week against the Cubs, Cahill was tagged for four earned runs and five hits while getting only one out. Against the Brewers, the All-Star righty allowed two earned runs and four hits in 2 1-3 innings.
Anderson De La Rosa hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the Brewers. Casey McGehee hit his third homer in two days and Ryan Braun also connected for Milwaukee.
Josh Willingham, Andy LaRoche and Matt Carson homered for the A’s. Oakland outfielder Coco Crisp, arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of drunk driving, had two hits and drove in a run.

Yankees 1, Rays 1, 10 innings
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Freddy Garcia launched his bid to win a spot in the New York Yankees’ pitching rotation by working two scoreless innings during a 10-inning tie with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 34-year-old, two-time All-Star — signed to a minor league contract after going 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA for the Chicago White Sox last season — allowed two hits and struck out one in his spring training debut.

Twins 2, Orioles 0
SARASOTA, Fla. — Carl Pavano pitched three scoreless innings for the Minnesota Twins in their win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Pavano allowed just one hit, a single to J.J. Hardy in the third inning. Pavano picked Hardy off first, and faced the minimum nine batters.
Brian Matusz pitched two hitless innings for the Orioles in his first start. The team said the left-hander will get a wart removed from the middle finger of his left hand and probably miss a start.

Padres 6, Diamondbacks 4
PEORIA, Ariz. — Jesus Guzman hit a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the San Diego Padres over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Justin Upton had two hits, including his first home run of the spring, for the Diamondbacks.
The Padres were without bench coach Rick Renteria, who went to the hospital in the morning for further evaluation after he was struck in the mouth with a line drive during batting practice.

Astros 5, Marlins 3
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Florida’s Alex Sanabia allowed four runs in the first two innings, and the Houston Astros went on to beat the Marlins.
Nelson Figueroa and Aneury Rodriguez, candidates for the fifth spot in the Astros’ rotation, each pitched two shutout innings.

White Sox 6, Mariners 1
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Alex Rios homered, John Danks pitched two hitless innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners.
Danks walked two of the eight batters he faced, but was otherwise pleased with his 37-pitch debut.
Adam Dunn made his first appearance at first base in a White Sox uniform and singled for his first hit.