After the Royals scratched out a run to take a lead in the home half of the eighth inning, John Schreiber stuck around to get the first two outs of the ninth. Lynch was then brought on to face Edouard Julien and he needed just two pitches to get him to ground out to shortstop to end the ballgame. While he’s probably fourth in line for save chances behind Carlos Estevez, Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey, Lynch has shown that he’s capable of handling the occasional opportunity that comes his way as well.

It’ll be Kris Bubic opening the year as Kansas City’s fifth starter. Royals manager Matt Quatraro added that Carlos Hernández, who is out of options, is not on the Opening Day roster. He’ll presumably be designated for assignment at some point in the coming days since he can’t be shipped to Triple-A Omaha without clearing waivers.

The Royals turned Lynch into a one-inning reliever tonight, suggesting he’s out of the mix for a rotation spot. A place in the bullpen remains up for grabs, but he didn’t help the cause in giving up three hits in his inning of work. He still could prove useful in middle relief.

Lynch struck out a pair of opposing batters on the day and didn’t allow a base on balls. All of the damage done against him in this one came in the second inning as Martin Maldonado delivered a two-out RBI single and Luis Arraez followed with a two-run triple. The 28-year-old southpaw got five swings and misses on 59 pitches on the day, registering a CSW of 24 percent. He holds a solid 3.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and an 11/0 K/BB ratio over 14 innings through his first five appearances on the spring, though he still appears to be behind Kris Bubic in his bid for the final spot in the Royals’ Opening Day rotation.