Royals' Ventura throws 7 no-hit innings against Mariners

Yordano Ventura was told he'd be on a strict 90-95 pitch count in his second-to-last tuneup before his Opening Day start.

He only needed 88 pitches to prove he's already in mid-season form.

Ventura held the Seattle Mariners hitless over seven scoreless innings Friday, striking out four and walking two in the Kansas City Royals' 5-1 victory in Cactus League action.

Ventura threw just 49 strikes to 39 balls but showed good use of his curve and his fastball sat consistently in the 94-95 mph range. The hard-throwing right-hander induced six swinging strikes and topped out at 99 mph. Ventura, who led the league in pitches at or above 96 mph last season, exited with a 5-0 lead after seven.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Royals manager Ned Yost said prior to Friday's start that Ventura would throw no more than 95 pitches and be limited to just 60-65 for his final spring outing next Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 23-year-old officially inherited the role of staff ace from the departed James Shields after being named Opening Day starter this week for the Royals' April 6 game against the Chicago White Sox.