Raul Ibanez hits a historic triple for Royals

In his first month with the Royals, Raul Ibanez has already set a couple of difficult records.

Just a few days after being signed, Ibanez became the oldest Royal to hit a home run when he knocked one out of Target Field on July 2 against the Twins. He added to his ledger Friday against the Indians when he became the oldest Royal to hit a triple.

Ibanez knocked Alex Gordon and ended up scoring on the play in the fourth inning when the infield throw skipped past the third baseman. He was 42 years, 44 days which edged Bob Boone, who tripled at 41 years, 307 days against Seattle on Sept. 22, 1989.

After a zero-for-23 stretch in early July, Ibanez seems to have found his rhythm, going six for 12 in his last six games with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs.

Vargas throws BP

Royals left-hander Jason Vargas took another big step in his recovery from his July 9 appendectomy by pitching three 15-pitching innings of live batting practice before Saturday’s game.

Vargas, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list after a July 9 appendectomy, pitched to teammates and returned to the dugouts between innings to simulate live action. He also checked in with trainer Nick Kenney and pitching coach Dave Eiland throughout the session.

Vargas became eligible for reinstatement Thursday, but Bruce Chen is scheduled to continue as his replacement in the starting rotation when he takes the mound in the series finale with Cleveland on Sunday.

Draft-pick update

In his first three professional starts, Royals first-round draft pick Brandon Finnegan has been nearly perfect.

Finnegan, who is pitching for Class A Wilmington, most recently tossed three scoreless innings with one hit and four strikeouts in Monday’s 1-0 victory against Lynchburg. The hit was his first allowed this year, but he managed to push his scoreless streak to seven innings with six strikeouts in that span.

He’s not the only first-rounder having success, though.

After giving up his first earned run on July 6, left-hander Foster Griffin has responded with back-to-back scoreless outings. Griffin, who was the 28th pick of the draft, pitched three innings in each of his last two appearances and has given up just one hit with four walks and two strikeouts. In five starts for Burlington (Rookie), he is 0-0 with a 0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.

Chase Vallot, a catcher who was selected in the competitive balance round, has a .229 average in 28 games for Burlington. He has 22 hits with eight doubles, five home runs and 18 RBIs.

This story was originally published July 26, 2014 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Raul Ibanez hits a historic triple for Royals."