NEW YORK | It was a summons that reliever Jeff Fulchino probably should have expected: The Royals recalled him Friday from Class AAA Omaha before opening a three-game weekend series against the New York Yankees.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been called up three times in my career,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and all three times it&#8217;s been at Yankee Stadium.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals cleared space for Fulchino by optioning right-handed starter Kyle Davies to Omaha. The move appeared designed primarily to add an arm to a bullpen that had been operating short-handed because of Ron Mahay&#8217;s foot injury.</p><p>Mahay hadn&#8217;t pitched since Aug. 6, and the rust showed when he got into the game Friday. Gil Meche handed him a 3-1 lead, but he walked two Yankees, both of whom scored.</p><p>Fulchino, 28, is in his second tour this season with the Royals. He allowed seven runs and nine hits in six innings over five appearances during June 7-23. He was 3-4 with a 4.84 ERA in 25 games at Omaha.</p><p>&#8220;The thing I liked when he was up here before was his plane,&#8221; manager Trey Hillman said. &#8220;His plane was almost always downhill. More often than not, he had tilt to the slider.&#8221;</p><p>Davies, 24, started in Thursday&#8217;s 9-2 loss at Chicago and was deemed expendable in the short term because of Monday&#8217;s open date in the schedule. He isn&#8217;t likely to spend much time at Omaha.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t need another starter until the 23rd,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;With Ronnie coming back from plantar fasciitis, and trying to take care of the other bullpen arms, it was a good time for us to get another multiuse arm from Omaha.&#8221;</p><p>Players optioned to the minors can&#8217;t be recalled for 10 days except when replacing a player placed on the disabled list. Davies is 5-4 with a 4.71 ERA in 14 starts since his May 31 recall from Omaha.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Aviles back home</span></strong></p><p>It was here in the South Bronx, about eight minutes from where he grew up, that rookie infielder Mike Aviles convinced the Royals that he deserved regular time in the lineup.</p><p>Aviles had not played in six of seven games after arriving May 29 from Omaha before going two for three with two doubles on June 6 in a 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium.</p><p>The Royals went on to split the four-game series, aided by Aviles going five for 14 with four extra-base hits. He&#8217;s been a fixture ever since in the lineup.</p><p>&#8220;When I came up, I had a lot to prove,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t one of those players who was going to be given anything. I was going to have to work hard. I was going to do that anyway. I wanted to prove I deserved to be here and could help a team win.&#8221;</p><p>Aviles carried a club-leading .327 average into Friday&#8217;s game with seven homers and 31 RBIs. More important, the Royals are 31-30 since he became a regular.</p><p>&#8220;My main focus,&#8221; he said, &#8220;is to show that I can compete at this level and help a team win. Usually, when you go about your business that way, everything else falls into place. I&#8217;ve been fortunate. It&#8217;s falling into a good place for me right now.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">DeJesus improving</span></strong></p><p>Outfielder David DeJesus missed his second straight game because of a sore lower back. There remains no target date for his return to the lineup.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s getting better,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and I&#8217;m hoping to play (today). The pain isn&#8217;t as bad. Before, it was just shooting down my legs. My legs felt dead.</p><p>&#8220;At night, I was waking up every two hours. It&#8217;s better. That&#8217;s not happening anymore.&#8221;</p><p>Mitch Maier replaced DeJesus in center field.</p><p>DeJesus missed five straight games earlier this month before going one for 16 in a brief return.</p><p>&#8220;Obviously, he doesn&#8217;t feel right physically,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not the same swing. He&#8217;s not utilizing his lower half like he normally does.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Minor details</span></strong></p><p>Class AA Northwest Arkansas pitcher Danny Cortes is ranked No. 2 by <em>Baseball America </em>on this week&#8217;s Prospect Hot Sheet, which seeks to highlight &#8212; no surprise &#8212; who&#8217;s hot among the game&#8217;s top prospects.</p><p>Cortes, 21, allowed just one earned run in six innings Thursday but got a no-decision in a 3-2 loss to Midland. He is 6-1 in his last nine starts and has allowed only four runs in 17 innings in his last three starts. He has 99 strikeouts, but also 48 walks, in 100 2/3 innings.