SPRINGDALE -- Right-hander Brady Singer tossed six scoreless innings and his teammates did the rest to help Kansas City down Northwest Arkansas 7-1 in an exhibition game Monday night in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,811 at Arvest Ballpark.
Kansas City took the lead in the top of the second as MJ Melendez doubled and scored on Adam Frazier's RBI single off Naturals starter Luis Cessa.
Kansas City added two more in the third on Hunter Renfroe's two-out, two-run single to push its lead to 3-0.
Royals Manager Matt Quatraro said bringing the Major League team to play at its Class AA affiliate is exciting for everyone, himself included.
"My second year in the organization, I've heard so many great things about the affiliate here and the facility and obviously that's true. ... Nice facility inside," Quatraro said. "The batting cages are great. The players that have all come through here really enjoyed their time here, so it's cool. It's great for me to get to see it, get to meet some of the people and put names to faces."
Singer said he was happy with his performance.
"It felt good," Singer said. "I felt like all the pitches were working. Everything was really sharp. I was able to command it. Early outs was something I wanted to do. I wanted to go out there and get quick outs, get through the six innings."
Singer said he liked how he was able to mix up pitch selection and credited catcher Salvador Perez for his game-calling. He allowed 3 hits, struck out 8 and walked only 1.
Singer, who was 8-11 with a 5.52 ERA for the Royals last season, pitched for the Naturals in 2019 and went 7-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 16 starts.
Quatraro echoed Singer's comments about his performance.
"His command was really good," Quatraro said. "He mixed in more four-seamers as well. But overall he was hitting his spots. His sweeper was good and he was getting chase."
Quatraro said even before the game Monday that commanding the fastball was key for Singer, and he proved to be right on target.
"When he commands the fastball, especially the two-seamer, he gets ground balls," Quatraro said. "He gets quick outs. And that's what's important for him. If he gets in deep counts and gets behind hitters, it's usually a rougher night for him."
Quatraro said he liked what he saw from the group offensively, too. Designated hitter Nelson Velazquez hit a solo homer with two outs in the sixth.
"I thought we had good at-bats throughout," Quatraro said. "It was nice to see Nellie hit a home run. That was great. It had been a while, but we know he has that in him. He got a breaking ball on the inside part of the plate. And then down the stretch there, some of the guys who came in later put up good at-bats."
He also talked about the excitement for the people in Northwest Arkansas to see players who started with the Naturals return to the area in a Royals' uniform.
"I think it's awesome," Quatraro said. "I think these fans, as I've heard, support the team tremendously well here. So the excitement of being an affiliate is to see your guys go up and become what happens in the big leagues."
Several Royals received big ovations from the home crowd, including Perez, who helped lead the Royals to the 2015 World Series title; rising star Bobby Witt Jr., who played with the Naturals in 2021; and former Arkansas Razorback Cayden Wallace, who finished the 2023 season with the Naturals.
"It's special bringing up homegrown guys and you go down the hall and see all the names that have played here and made their debut with the Royals or played with the Royals and [became] All-Stars with other teams," Witt Jr. said. "It's pretty cool to see."
Melendez was the only player with more than one hit, going 2-for 2-with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored.
The Naturals scored a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Carson Roccaforte to get within 4-1. But with the tying run at the plate, Chris Stratton struck out Brett Squires to end the inning.
Nick Loftin's three-run double in the top of the ninth pushed the Royals' lead to 7-1.
James McArthur tossed a scoreless ninth to seal the deal for the Major League club.