Mendoza Loses No-Hit Bid in First Inning; Royals Lose 6-4

On a night of no-hit bids, where Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the ninth, and Kevin Millwood of all people had a no-hitter into the sixth, it should come as no surprise that Royals Cactus League All-Star Luis Mendoza was able to carry a no-hitter into the first inning, retiring the first two hitters he faced until Miguel Montero broke up the no-no bid in the first, scoring a run.

Undaunted, Mendoza did give the Royals five solid innings, but fell apart in the sixth when once again, Ned Yost seemed determined to allow his starting pitcher to allow runs well after everyone else in the ballpark knew it was time to go to the pen. Mendoza gave up singles to the first three hitters he faced in the sixth, and like clockwork, Ned kept him in to "figure things out", leading to a big two-run double by Chris Young to give the Diamondbacks the lead.

The plucky Royals would scratch back to tie the game on a clutch RBI single by Alex Gordon, but the Royals would cough the lead back up in the eighth on Miguel Montero's two-run double off Tim Collins.

On the plus side, Country Breakfast homered again, giving hope that we may indeed be seeing a power surge out of him. Irving Falu kept up his insane hot streak, ensuring he'll stay in the lineup. Johnny Giavotella even had two hits, which means he'll watch the rest of this weekend's games from the bench.

Mendoza was pretty "meh" which was the worst of all outcomes since he wasn't bad enough to finally prove to Dayton he doesn't belong in the big leagues, but he wasn't good enough to win. In fairness, he probably should have been pulled a batter or two into the sixth inning, but Ned has to teach these kids a lesson.