Surprise, Ariz. ? Barry Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner, allowed two runs over five innings Thursday to pick up his first spring training victory as the Oakland Athletics topped the Kansas City Royals, 9-2.

Zito allowed five hits, walked one, struck out two and hit a batter in his third start.

He yielded a run with two out in the first when Aaron Guiel’s double scored Mike Sweeney. David DeJesus’ single in the fourth scored Tony Graffanino, who had walked, for the other Kansas City run.

“I was trying to overthrow a little bit early,” Zito said. “When I let my body work for me, I settled down and got a feel for pitching again.”

Left-hander Brian Anderson allowed four runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning, but nothing after that. After eight A’s came to the plate in the first, Anderson faced just 13 batters the next four innings.

“I’ll take that from him anytime,” Royals manager Tony Pena said. “He threw only 65 pitches for five innings and that is low especially after that first inning.

“If he keeps getting ground balls, we’re going to catch ground balls.”

But the Royals played sloppy defense Thursday, with infielders Joe Randa, Graffanino and Wilton Guerrero all committing errors.

“The infield dirt was very, very hard,” Pena said.

Nick Swisher hit his third home run of the season off Jaime Cerda in the seventh.

Eric Karros stroked a two-run single in the A’s first, while Mike Edwards contributed a two-run single in the Oakland eighth.

Notes: Country music singer Garth Brooks flied out to second base as a Royals pinch hitter in the eighth. … The A’s have won seven of their past 10 games.