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For at least the next couple of months, just about every time Luke Hochevar steps on the mound, he will be facing a team for the first time.
Although Hochevar threw 3 1/3 innings against Detroit last September, tonight will be his first start against the Tigers.
So far, Hochevar, 2-2, has fared pretty well facing teams for the first time. It’s something all rookie pitchers go through before they gain knowledge on the hitters and the hitters have a book on them.
“Sometimes it’s better because you don’t think too much and you just rely on your stuff and what you do best,” Royals pitching coach Bob McClure said. “You don’t overcomplicate it.”
Hochevar, who was the overall No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft, has pitched at least six innings in his last three starts. The only start he failed to get to the fifth was his first against Oakland.
“It’s kind of on-the-go adjustments,” Hochevar said. “Obviously, I will look at how I pitched them (Tigers) in the past, maybe pitches that they sat on in certain counts.
“But then again, you’ve got to stay with your strengths and be aggressive in the strike zone and trust your stuff. I don’t want to totally get away and revamp the way I pitch, but you have to adjust as well to the hitters.
“For the most part, I just try to be myself and execute pitches.”
In the race
At this point in the season, how many games a team is out of first place is more important than where it sits in the standings.
The Royals are in fourth place, but only three games out of first place.
A year ago on May 14, the Royals were 13-26, buried in last place and 11 games out. All hopes of winning the division were long gone well before Memorial Day.
That’s not the case this year. Dreams of a division title are still real.
“It’s early and all you want at this time is to be in the mix,” Billy Butler said. “It doesn’t matter who is in front. We are close. We need to keep battling, and hopefully in the end we are in it.”
Important series
The Royals and Detroit are fighting to stay out of the basement in the American League Central in this three-game series.
But that’s not why this series is important. The Royals entered the last part of this 10-game homestand with a 2-5 record.
“Obviously, at this point we would rather have had a better homestand,” said Royals manager Trey Hillman. “We still got a chance to salvage some things if we can have a good series against the Tigers.”
Bullpen improvement
Through the first 37 games this season, the Royals’ bullpen is 3-2 with a 3.92 ERA and has converted nine of 12 save situations, including all eight chances by Joakim Soria.
Through the same period a year ago, the bullpen was 2-10 with a 5.49 ERA and had nine saves in 16 chances.
Minor details
•Right-handed starter Carlos Rosa earned a promotion after his brilliant start at Class AA North Arkansas, where he went 4-2 with a 1.20 ERA in eight starts. Rosa is now at Class AAA Omaha.
•Omaha outfielder Mitch Maier extended his hitting streak to 16 games Monday when he hit a home run in a 6-4 loss to Tacoma.
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