Torrid Toro belts homer to lead A's past Royals

Veteran utility player Abraham Toro continued to solidify his spot on the A's Opening Day roster Sunday, blasting a three-run homer and driving in four to key Oakland's 6-3 spring training win over Kansas City in Mesa, Ariz.

Toro, a switch-hitting 27-yearold acquired in a minor league deal with Milwaukee in November, is now batting .400 through 25 at-bats and is second on the A's with seven RBIs. His third-inning home run, his first of the spring, snapped a 3-3 tie and made a winner out of starter Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn, who is in competition with left-hander JP Sears to start the season opener against Cleveland on March 28, surrendered three runs in his four innings for Oakland (8-8).

Rookie Lawrence Butler also kept contributing offensively as he scored twice and went 2 for 2 to boost his average to .423, keeping him tied with Miguel Andujar for the team lead.

Earlier in the day, the A's sent right-hander Joey Estes and infielder Jordan Diaz, both strong roster contenders, to Triple-A Las Vegas. METS' DIAZ SET FOR RETURN >> New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz is set to appear in a game for the first time since tearing a patellar tendon during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The two-time All-Star is expected to be the first reliever after starter Tylor Megill, and the right-hander will have a 20-pitch limit when the Mets face Miami in spring training in Port St. Lucie, Florida tonight.

Díaz injured his right knee celebrating with teammates after closing out Puerto Rico's 5-2 victory over the Dominican Republic last March.

The injury was the first of many for the Mets in 2023, leading the club to unload Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline before manager Buck Showalter was fired a year after New York made the playoffs as a wild card.

The 29-year-old Díaz was an All-Star for the Mets in 2022, recording 32 saves and having a 1.31 ERA. Of the 186 outs Díaz recorded that year, 118 were on strikeouts.

Díaz came to New York in a trade after his first All-Star season with Seattle in 2018. MARINERS ADD STANEK >> The Seattle Mariners signed reliever Ryne Stanek to a one-year contract.

Stanek brings plenty of postseason experience to the Mariners.

The 32-year-old right-hander has 23 postseason appearances, all but two of them with Houston the past three seasons. He was 3-1 with a 4.09 ERA in the regular season last year after going 2-1 with a 1.15 ERA in 2022. It was the lowest ERA in Houston history for a pitcher with at least 50 innings.

Stanek spent his first three seasons with Tampa Bay.