Look for Ryan Shealy and Kila Ka&#8217;aihue to split time at first base for the Royals the rest of the season.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to try to keep Shealy and KK both going there,&#8221; manager Trey Hillman said. &#8220;Basically it will be a platoon, unless there is something unforeseen with an injury.&#8221;</p><p>That means veteran Ross Gload, who started 93 games at first base, will shift primarily to the outfield &#8212; when he plays at all.</p><p>Shealy started at first base in Thursday&#8217;s first game. Billy Butler played first in the second game, when Hillman chose to use Jos&#233; Guillen as the designated hitter.</p><p>Ka&#8217;aihue made his major-league debut as a pinch runner in the second game but didn&#8217;t bat.</p><p>The Royals face a decision this offseason on Shealy, who is out of options.</p><p>Ka&#8217;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&#8217;aihue appears to signal the club&#8217;s intention to keep him on the 40-man roster. Failure to do so would expose Ka&#8217;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.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Rotation plans</span></strong></p><p>Hillman doesn&#8217;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 except for a Sept. 13 doubleheader in Cleveland and, possibly, the season&#8217;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 &#8212; as long as Greinke shows no signs of injury through fatigue.</p><p>Greinke has pitched 176 1/3 innings in his 28 starts. That&#8217;s already an increase of more than 50 innings over last year, when he spent roughly three months as a reliever. He admitted it&#8217;s taking him longer to recover between starts.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s taking longer to bounce back,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But so far, every time by the time the game starts, I&#8217;ve been fine. That&#8217;s the goal. You just need to get ready for the game.&#8221;</p><p>Greinke&#8217;s career high was 183 innings in 2005.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Maier recovering</span></strong></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.</p><p>Hillman said Maier could return to the lineup as soon as next weekend &#8212; in Cleveland.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Bale&#8217;s return</span></strong></p><p>John Bale made his first big-league appearance since April 13. He worked a scoreless sixth inning in the second game.