ARLINGTON -- Michael Wacha is ready for the regular season.
Wacha went through his final spring tune-up against the Rangers in an eventual 3-2 loss Monday night at Globe Life Field, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks. The right-hander struck out five across five innings and threw 88 pitches (49 strikes).
Up next is a scheduled start Saturday night in Atlanta, when games will truly count.
“I thought stuff was coming out good today,” Wacha said. “I mixed in a few too many walks, more than I would like, but overall I liked the way the stuff is coming out. I’m excited for the regular season.”
One of the key takeaways for Wacha was ending the first four innings on strikeouts -- with four different pitches. He got Corey Seager to whiff on an 82.5 mph changeup off the outside part of the plate to end the first, and then Joc Pederson swung and missed at a high 94.2 mph fastball in the second.
Then, after giving up a two-run home run to Brandon Nimmo earlier in the frame, Wacha escaped the third by striking out Josh Smith on a 92.8 mph sinker. The fourth inning ended when Wacha froze Evan Carter on a 90.3 mph cutter on the outside corner.
“I’ve been working on some putaway pitches this spring, so it was good to see where I could finish some of those guys off with different stuff at times,” Wacha said.
Wacha finished his night by working out of a fifth-inning jam. With one out and runners at the corners, Wacha struck out Seager on a fastball and ended the threat by getting Jake Burger to fly out to right.
Manager Matt Quatraro described Wacha as “really good,” especially the way Wacha worked in his slider during the game.
“He’s not going to be throwing 100 mph,” Quatraro said. “Everybody knows he’s got a plus-changeup, but he’s going to have to get the slider going, get some fastballs up past people and be able to use the sinker at times, too.”
In the end, Wacha checked the necessary boxes leading into the regular season. It was his deepest outing of the spring and produced promising results compared to his previous two starts. Over those two outings in the Cactus League, Wacha combined to allow nine runs on 10 hits over just 6 2/3 innings.
But Monday was a nice step forward for a pitcher who has established himself as a workhorse. Wacha led the team with 31 starts last season, going 10-13 with a 3.86 ERA across 172 2/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs or fewer in 23 of his 31 starts.
“I’m always trying to improve, never trying to be content with where I am,” Wacha said. “Always trying to improve the repertoire, trying to get those pitches in my repertoire dialed in to where I need them to be.”
Lineup matters
The Royals’ lineup on Monday may be pretty similar to the Opening Day lineup on Friday in Atlanta. With the Rangers starting left-hander MacKenzie Gore, Quatraro said it’s a “possibility” that the starting lineup is similar when they face Braves lefty Chris Sale in the opener.
“I would say the righties that are in there will be in there on Opening Day,” Quatraro said pregame. “We’re trying to figure out the lefties.”
The offense was held scoreless until Salvador Perez delivered a solo home run in the seventh. Brandon Drury drove in the second run with a single in the ninth.