Royals left-hander John Bale made his toughest appearance so far this season on Monday.</p><p>Nearly three hours before the Royals faced the Angels, a remorseful Bale stood in front of his locker and talked about how he let the team down.</p><p>Bale broke a bone in his pitching hand Friday night when he hit a hotel door.</p><p>&#8220;This is tough,&#8221; Bale said quietly as he addressed reporters. &#8220;I would like to apologize first of all to the Royals organization, teammates and my coaching staff for my actions. It was uncalled for. It was a moment of frustration. I wish I could do anything to take it back, but I can&#8217;t.&#8221;</p><p>Bale didn&#8217;t take questions after his statement and didn&#8217;t give a reason why he was upset. He said it will be four to six weeks before he can start throwing.</p><p>He spoke for about three minutes and reiterated several times how sorry he was.</p><p>It was a tough April for Bale, who pitched well enough in spring training to earn a spot in the starting rotation. Bale lost all three of his starts and had an ERA of 7.63. Bale went on the disabled list April 17 because of tightness in his left shoulder. Luke Hochevar replaced Bale in the rotation and has won his last two starts.</p><p>&#8220;I have to try to move on the best that I can, support my teammates and do what I can to keep my arm in shape,&#8221; Bale said.</p><p>&#8220;Again, I would like to apologize to everybody. I feel like I let my teammates down. We are right in the thick of things, and I wish I could be on the field fighting with them.&#8221;</p><p>Royals manager Trey Hillman has spoken with Bale several times about the situation.</p><p>&#8220;John Bale is as remorseful of making a really poor decision at a poor time on his pitching hand as anybody I&#8217;ve ever managed,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;He&#8217;s killing himself right now.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Long homestand ahead</span></strong></p><p>The Royals began a 10-game homestand just two games below .500 with a chance to climb above the .500 mark before embarking on an 11-game trip.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s big,&#8221; Royals pitcher Brian Bannister said. &#8220;I think our next road trip is a long one. It&#8217;s going to be demanding. It would be nice to build some momentum before we go on the road.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">No wind</span></strong></p><p>Tonight&#8217;s forecast calls for rain. Bannister can probably live with that as long as the rain doesn&#8217;t delay or postpone the game.</p><p>The element Bannister doesn&#8217;t want to see is wind.</p><p>Bannister, who pitches tonight, is coming off his worst performance of the season when he gave up seven runs and seven hits in three innings at Texas. The wind was blowing out at nearly 30 mph.</p><p>&#8220;I hope we don&#8217;t see those conditions again,&#8221; Bannister said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never pitched in wind like that.&#8221;</p><p>Bannister, 3-3, is trying to break a three-game losing streak.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Minor details</span></strong></p><p>Shortstop Mike Moustakas, the second overall pick in last year&#8217;s draft, is heating up.</p><p>He had two singles Sunday for Class A Burlington and added a home run and a double on Monday and is now batting .210.