It’s fitting, perhaps, that Brandon Wood’s two-run homer Saturday afternoon came after he missed an earlier opportunity to provide the Royals with a walk-off victory over the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium.

That sort of sums up his aspirations in camp.

Wood’s homer in the 4-2 victory came two pitches after he pulled a similar Jake Brigham curve deep to left but foul. After fouling off a fastball, Brigham tried another curve — and Wood didn’t miss it.

“I came around on that first one a little bit,” he said, “so I wanted to stay through the next one.”

Wood, 27, is a one-time phenom trying to resurrect his career after signing with the Royals as a minor-league free agent. He was the Angels’ first-round pick in 2003 and ranked by Baseball America as the game’s No. 3 prospect entering the 2006 season.