BOSTON | It’s inevitable, perhaps, that Royals reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta would acquire “Shake” as a nickname — Shake Yabuta — but that sure beats other less-kind alternatives.
Yabuta appears to be righting himself after a rough introduction to the big leagues. He made his fourth straight scoreless appearance Monday as a footnote to the no-hitter by Boston’s Jon Lester.
“I’ve started to get the ball down,” Yabuta said through an interpreter. “And even when I fall behind, I’ve been able to throw more strikes. Getting the ball down and locating my breaking ball has made a big difference.”
The Royals lured Yabuta, 34, from Japan in the offseason by ponying up a guaranteed $6 million over the next two years. They believed they were obtaining a proven setup reliever since Yabuta recorded 86 “holds” over the last three seasons for Chiba Lotte in the Pacific League.
The early results weren’t promising. Yabuta struggled through most of his spring outings and began the season by allowing 13 runs, 22 hits and nine walks in his first 14 innings.
That prompted a pointed discussion a few weeks ago with manager Trey Hillman and pitching coach Bob McClure.
When Yabuta insisted he was healthy and not having trouble with the ball, which is slightly different from those used in Japan, he got a terse directive from Hillman: “Fill up the strike zone the way you did in Japan.”
Hillman was particularly troubled by the walks.
“There’s no doubt that he’s finding something,” Hillman said. “Mac has done some nice things with him. He’s making adjustments. He’s throwing more strikes.
“It’s good to see. He’s closer, but he’s not there yet, to the pitcher we brought over. He’s moving in the right direction.”
Gathright improved
Outfielder Joey Gathright remains limited by a sore left shoulder resulting from a collision Saturday with David DeJesus in Florida. Gathright said his shoulder popped briefly out of joint — something he has experienced in the past.
“It’s better,” he said. “It just takes time. It usually takes a few days to get it back to normal.”
Gathright took batting practice for the second straight day and is viewed as available for duty.
“When he took batting practice,” Hillman said, “the soreness in his shoulder shortened his swing. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.”
Minor details
Left-hander Danny Duffy worked three scoreless innings Monday in his season debut for Class A Burlington before running into trouble in three-run fourth in a 7-3 loss to Kane County.
Duffy, 19, was the Royals’ third-round pick in last year’s draft. He gave up three runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings while striking out four and walking one.
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