Look for Ryan Shealy and Kila Ka’aihue to split time at first base for the Royals throughout the rest of the season. </p><p> “I’m going to try to keep Shealy and KK both going there,” manager Trey Hillman said. “Basically, it will be a platoon unless there is something unforeseen with an injury.”</p><p> That means veteran Ross Gload, who started 93 games at first base, will shift primarily to the outfield — when he plays at all.</p><p> “I told Ross that with two new first basemen being in,” Hillman said, “it’s going to affect his playing time at that position. I told him to make sure he turned up his work in the outfield — in left and right.”</p><p> The Royals face a decision this off-season on Shealy, who is out of options. He spent the entire season at Class AAA Omaha, where he batted .283 with 22 homers and 65 RBIs in 111 games.</p><p> Ka’aihue, 24, received a call-up after a breakthrough season in which he had 37 homers and 100 RBIs while batting .314 in 124 games at Omaha and Class AA Northwest Arkansas.</p><p> The decision to promote Ka’aihue appears to signal the club’s intention to keep him on the 40-man roster. Failure to do so would have exposed Ka’aihue to selection by another team in the Rule 5 draft.</p><p> Gload, 32, is under contract for next season for $1.9 million. He entered Thursday’s double-header at .272 with three homers and 35 RBIs in 115 games.</p><p><b>Rotation plans</b></p><p> Hillman doesn’t intend to shake up the rotation over the final 23 games. The five current starters will stay in order through the end of the season with the exception of the Sept. 13 double-header in Cleveland and, possibly, the season’s final game.</p><p> An open date in the final week could result in Zack Greinke getting an extra start by pitching that last game at Minnesota with his usual four days of rest — as long as Greinke shows no signs of injury through fatigue.</p><p> “Certainly at this point,” Hillman said, “you look at the cumulative number of innings. It would have been a concern for (Luke) Hochevar, but he’s not in the mix anymore (because of an injury).</p><p> “With this being Zack’s first full season (back) as a starter, he would be the primary concern (among the starters).”</p><p> Greinke has pitched 176 1/3 innings in his 28 starts. That’s already an increase of more than 50 innings over last year, when he spent roughly three months as a reliever. He admitted it’s taking him longer to recover between starts.</p><p> “It’s taking longer to bounce back,” he admitted, “but so far, every time by the time the game starts, I’ve been fine. That’s the goal. You just need to get ready for the game.”</p><p> Greinke should approach 200 innings by making four planned starts before the season finale. His career high was 183 innings in 2005.</p><p> That final game in Minnesota could be important if the Twins and Chicago White Sox continue to battle one another for the American League Central Division. </p><p> Hillman said he’ll use the expanded 12-man bullpen to work the second game of the double-header in Cleveland.</p><p><b>Maier recovering</b></p><p> Outfielder Mitch Maier took part in on-field activities for the first time since being beaned Aug. 20 by Indians pitcher Zach Jackson in Cleveland.</p><p> Maier suffered three broken bones in his face but no displaced fractures.</p><p> Hillman said Maier could return to the lineup as soon as next weekend — in Cleveland.</p><p><b>Minor details</b></p><p> Class A Burlington carries a 1-0 lead into the second game of its best-of-three series tonight at Kane County in the first round of the Midwest League playoffs. The Bees posted a 5-3 victory Wednesday behind Jason Taylor’s two-run homer.