Tempe, Ariz. ? Vin Mazzaro, vying for a spot in Kansas City’s starting rotation, struggled in his third start of the spring, but the Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-3, in a split-squad game Thursday.

Mazzaro gave up six hits and three runs in 31/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two, and got his pitch count up to 60. That was an improvement on his previous start, when Mazzaro yielded four runs (three earned) and five hits over two innings Saturday against Oakland.

“I’m getting stretched out a little bit. I’m feeling stronger. Next start I hope I get five or six innings of a quality start and go from there,” he said.

Royals (ss) 4, Athletics 4, 9 innings

Phoenix — Chris Getz has been waiting all spring to put last year’s slump behind him.

Getting two hits Thursday helped get him on the right path.

Getz tripled and singled, stole a base and scored a run for a Kansas City Royals split squad Thursday. The game was called after nine innings.

Getz began the day in a 1-for-14 rut. He hit only .237 last year in 224 at-bats.

“It was the time to get some hits,” he said. “Spring is a process. Some guys can roll out of bed and start hitting. Some guys take time. It’s nice to have the feeling of getting some hits. It’s something to build on.”