PEORIA, Ariz. -- In seven seasons with Kansas City, Eric Hosmer racked up 127 homers for the Royals. He now has one Cactus League dinger to his name against them.
Facing his former team for the second time this spring, Hosmer launched an 0-2 fastball from Royals right-hander Kelvin Herrera off the center-field batter's eye. The crowd, a mix of Padres and Royals fans, erupted in unison.
Hosmer's two-run blast put the Padres on the board in a game they went on to lose, 12-4.
Hosmer said afterward he was pretty certain Herrera, his teammate since Class A Burlington in 2009, wouldn't mess around with an offspeed pitch.
"He got 0-2 on me and kept smiling," said Hosmer, who signed an eight-year deal with the Padres last month. "That's the thing about these guys [his former teammates]. They're going to try to challenge you, get you on a heater. I had a pretty good idea a heater was coming."
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Hosmer got the fastball he was looking for and crushed it to straightaway center -- his second home run in a span of 18 hours. He went deep Thursday night as well, delivering a no-doubt, two-run shot to right field against the Giants.
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For the most part, Hosmer's bat has been quiet this spring. After his 1-for-3 performance on Friday, he's hitting .189 with three homers. Neither he nor the Padres are too concerned with the low average.
"I feel like [my swing] is getting there," Hosmer said. "I tried to, early on, really see a lot of pitches. ... Especially when we're staying in division, I want to see those guys as much as I can. Slowly, it's starting to come together. That's the process of spring."
Hosmer, one of the offseason's most coveted free agents, signed an eight-year deal with the Padres worth a franchise-record $144 million in February. It came on the heels of seven wildly successful seasons in Kansas City in which he helped the Royals to two American League pennants and the 2015 World Series.
Hosmer batted .318/.385/.498 with 25 homers, playing all 162 games last season.