<table> </table> CLEVELAND | Outfielder Mitch Maier points to a protective face guard as the reason for his lack of hesitancy to return to active duty after suffering three facial fractures when hit by a pitch on the Royals&#8217; last trip to Progressive Field.</p><p>That was Aug. 20, when Maier was struck just below his right eye on a pitch from Indians lefty Zach Jackson while squaring around to bunt.</p><p>&#8220;With this mask,&#8221; Maier said, &#8220;I&#8217;m really not worried about anything. My whole face is covered. There&#8217;s no way the ball is going through that thing to hit me (in the cheek bone again).&#8221;</p><p>The Royals activated Maier and third baseman Alex Gordon before Friday&#8217;s game. Gordon suffered a torn right hip flexor on Aug. 21 against the Indians. That was the same series that pitcher Luke Hochevar suffered a season-ending injury to his rib cage.</p><p>The decision to activate Maier and Gordon was pro forma to some degree. Rules allow teams to carry 40 active players in September.</p><p>The face guard covers Maier&#8217;s cheek and jaw and extends more than halfway to the other side. He said it isn&#8217;t a distraction.</p><p>&#8220;I honestly can&#8217;t even tell it&#8217;s there,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s no different from the brim of the helmet. If you look up, you can see the brim. But otherwise, you don&#8217;t notice it.&#8221;</p><p>Maier was batting .339 in 19 games when injured.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Limitations on Gordon</span></strong></p><p>The rainy conditions, expected all weekend, are putting a crimp in plans to work Gordon back into the lineup.</p><p>&#8220;We really wanted to get him out and allow him to run the bases (in pregame drills),&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;We can&#8217;t do that (because of the weather).</p><p>&#8220;If he is utilized in a pinch-hitting role, and this rain stays like it&#8217;s projected to stay, we&#8217;ll probably pinch-run for him if he reaches base. We want him to get the game time from the development aspect but not at the expense of possibly injuring him on a bad surface.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Chance to impress</span></strong></p><p>Neither Hillman nor pitching coach Bob McClure classifies the spot start tonight by Robinson Tejeda as an early audition for the 2009 rotation.</p><p>&#8220;We picked him because he&#8217;s started before,&#8221; McClure said. &#8220;And he&#8217;s gotten a little better at commanding his pitches.&#8221;</p><p>Tejeda, 26, served primarily as a starter in his nine previous pro seasons before shifting this season to the bullpen. He is 1-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 23 appearances joining the Royals on June 24 through a waiver claim from Texas.</p><p>Audition or not, Tejeda has a chance to impress the Royals, though he will be limited to 45-55 pitches. His longest outing of the season is just 2 2/3 innings.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Who&#8217;s on first?</span></strong></p><p>Neither Ryan Shealy nor Kila Ka&#8217;aihue was in the series opener.</p><p>The wet conditions Friday prompted Hillman to use Jos&#233; Guillen as the designated hitter and play Billy Butler, the usual DH, at first base.</p><p>Ka&#8217;aihue replaced Butler in the eighth inning and contributed a single to the Royals&#8217; three-run ninth inning.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Minor details</span></strong></p><p>Class A Burlington must wait at least one more day for the opportunity to become the Royals&#8217; first full-season affiliate to win a title in nine years.</p><p>Rain forced a postponement Friday of the third game of the Midwest League championship series in South Bend, Ind. The Bees hold a 2-0 advantage over South Bend in the best-of-five series.