SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The battle for the Royals' No. 5 spot in the rotation marched on Monday as two of the contestants -- right-hander Christopher Young and left-hander Travis Wood -- made their third appearances of the spring.
Young had the upper hand this time, throwing 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out one in the Royals' 4-2 win over the Rockies.
"I think my fastball command was better," Young said. "I threw some good pitches. Slider wasn't as sharp but that's what Spring Training is for, to try and get a feel for certain pitches and building up arm strength."
Young worked out of two tough spots. He had a runner on third and one out in the first but escaped further trouble, then worked around a leadoff double in the third.
"I made some good pitches in the first to get out of that and did the same thing in the third," Young said. "Fortunate that our guys made some good plays behind me."
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Young doesn't view getting out of jams in Spring Training as anything necessary leading into the regular season.

"It's great to not be in those situations, too," Young said. "At this point, it just comes down to pitch selection and execution. You just try to make the best pitches you can. If you do that, you should have decent success."
Wood also threw 3 2/3 innings but gave up six hits and two runs.