The Dodgers defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-5 in a spring-training game Friday.
ON THE MOUND: Clayton Kershaw gave up doubles to Whit Merrifield and Michael Taylor and struck out two in two scoreless innings of his first spring start. The left-hander threw 22 pitches, 17 for strikes, and threw another 15 or so pitches in the bullpen after his outing. Kershaw’s fastball was clocked at 89-90 mph, and he threw a nice back-foot slider to strike out Salvador Perez in the second. Left-hander Mike Kickham gave up three runs and three hits, including a two-run homer to Taylor, in 2-2/3 innings.