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Royals would like to see Gordon hit in No. 3 spot
By BOB DUTTONThe Kansas City Star
“I think he has a tendency to put a little pressure on himself (when batting third),” manager Trey Hillman said, “whether he realizes it or not. When he puts a little pressure on himself, his swing gets a little longer.
“As soon as we move him out of the three slot, in a short one-month history, his swing gets a little bit shorter and a little more compact. Hopefully, he can stay a little shorter. He’s going to have to.”
Gordon entered Friday with just six hits in 34 at-bats — a .176 average — when batting third. He is hitting .347 when he bats anywhere but third.
Coincidence? Gordon thinks so.
“Mark Teahen and I were talking about it,” he said, “because neither one of us has done very well in the third slot. But do I do anything differently? I don’t think so. I know I see more runners on base. I’ve just got to start driving them in.”
Mr. Postponement
Maybe Friday’s postponement was inevitable. It seems the Royals always have a rainout at some point each year in Cleveland. Now add Luke Hochevar as the starting pitcher — and the odds skyrocket.
Friday’s postponement marked the 12th time in the last two years that a game was postponed when Hochevar was the starting pitcher. That includes 10 minor-league games last year and one game earlier this season at Class AAA Omaha.
“I was scheduled to start last year in Salt Lake,” Hochevar said, “and they had a streak of eight or nine years without a rainout. It rained, but they really tried to get it in to save that streak. No chance.”
“How do you explain it? I don’t know, but I’ve had a lot of practice at it. I have a pretty good rainout routine.”
No makeup date was announced for Friday’s postponement, but it won’t be part of a doubleheader this weekend. The Royals make two more trips this season to Cleveland. Both teams also have an open date Aug. 18 immediately before the Royals’ next visit to Progressive Field.
Both teams plan to push their pitchers back one day. That means Hochevar is still scheduled to start tonight against Cleveland left-hander C.C. Sabathia. On Sunday, Gil Meche will go against Aaron Laffey.
Friday’s rainout means the Royals won’t see Fausto Carmona in this series.
“Hey,” Royals outfielder David DeJesus said, “you really can’t complain about that.”
Bale encouraged
Left-hander John Bale experienced no problems in testing his fatigued shoulder in a pregame throwing session. The only problem was rain in Cleveland forced Bale to work out in the indoor batting cages — not ideal when facing hitters and it eliminated a long-toss warm-up.
“It was a little creepy in there,” he acknowledged, “especially with (Miguel) Olivo hitting off of you. It went well, though. I threw close to 70 pitches, counting the warm-ups.
“I had to warm up off the mound with the catcher down because I couldn’t long-toss inside.”
Bale made three starts before a “dead arm” forced him to the disabled list after his April 15 outing in Seattle. Tentative plans call for him to play catch today and Sunday before throwing another live session of batting practice Monday at Kauffman Stadium.
“We’re on the right track,” Hillman said. “We’ll see how his body feels (today).”
Bale appears likely to rejoin the staff as a reliever.
Power in the Far East
It only makes it worse, as the Royals struggle into the weekend with just 15 homers in 28 games, to see a couple of alums are muscling up in Japan.
First baseman Craig Brazell tops the Pacific League with 11 homers for the Seibu Lions, and outfielder Aaron Guiel leads the Central League with eight homers and 22 RBIs for the Yakult Swallows.
Minor details
•Right-hander Julio Pimentel produced his fourth straight “quality start” Thursday when he yielded just two earned runs in seven innings for Class AA Northwest Arkansas in a 9-6 victory at Springfield.
Pimentel, 22, is 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35 innings. He has allowed five earned runs in 27 2/3 innings in his last four starts.
•Infielder Mike Aviles extended his hitting streak to 13 games by going one for four in Class AAA Omaha’s 5-3 loss at Sacramento. Aviles is batting .358 overall and .393 in the streak.