It&#8217;s far too early to call Luke Hochevar, the 2006 overall No. 1 pick, a Royals stopper. That title currently belongs to Zack Greinke.</p><p>But since Hochevar was called up April 20, he has two of the four victories by Kansas City starters.</p><p>Hochevar will take a personal two-game winning streak into tonight&#8217;s game against Baltimore with the same mentality as his previous starts.</p><p>&#8220;I just try to go out and execute one pitch at a time and focus on the things that I can control, which is keep the ball down in the strike zone, throw strikes and compete as hard as I can,&#8221; Hochevar said.</p><p>Hochevar is quick to say that he&#8217;s still in the learning process, and so much about what he&#8217;s doing is new.</p><p>&#8220;I still haven&#8217;t gotten to the point to where it&#8217;s just another day at work,&#8221; Hochevar said. &#8220;Every game is getting more and more to the point where I feel more comfortable, more relaxed and more like myself.&#8221;</p><p>Hochevar added that being around Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and some of the other pitchers has helped him.</p><p>&#8220;Those guys have been extremely good in taking the time to talk with me and showing me the ropes of some things,&#8221; Hochevar said. &#8220;Ultimately, they don&#8217;t have to. They can go out there and worry about their starts. That just shows you the type of character on this club.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">The right combination</span></strong></p><p>Royals manager Trey Hillman has fiddled with the lineup the first five weeks of the season, searching for the one that can consistently put up some runs.</p><p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re talking about offense, quite honestly, it&#8217;s been pretty lethargic over the course of 30-plus games,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;We are still looking for the right combination.</p><p>&#8220;If guys live up to their capabilities, I think we are going to end up scoring runs. I don&#8217;t think we have hit our stride yet.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals, though, made a giant step in the right direction Wednesday night. They scored at least one run in each of the first four innings and built a 9-1 lead.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">DH vs. first base</span></strong></p><p>Billy Butler said he feels more involved in the game when he&#8217;s playing first base. But he didn&#8217;t know his statistics when he&#8217;s playing first base versus being the designated hitter.</p><p>Butler is 26 for 91 for a .286 average at designated hitter in 25 games and eight for 30 for a .267 average in eight games at first.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Make-up date</span></strong></p><p>The Royals will make up the Friday rainout at Cleveland on Sept. 13 as part of a day-night doubleheader. The first game will be played at 12:05 p.m., and the evening game will be at 6:05.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Etc.</span></strong></p><p>A day off helped revive Jos&#233; Guillen&#8217;s bat. He doubled in each of his first two at-bats and singled in his third at-bat.