CHICAGO -- Luke Hochevar is a student of the game -- pitching, in particular -- and he's got passing grades so far.

On Monday night, the rookie starts the Royals' 100th game of the season, trying to even his 6-7 record.

"That first half was a lot of learning for me," Hochevar said. "I've had to learn to pitch at every level, and this level, obviously, is the most important.

"I feel I've come a long way in the 16 starts I've had since I came up. Now that we're at kind of the halfway point and we've implemented a cut fastball, that kind of helps me out with left-handed hitters. I threw it a little bit in my last start and I feel it opened up the outer half of the plate."

It's a process of absorbing the nuances and lessons that Major League Baseball presents.

"I've learned a lot in the first half on how to attack hitters," Hochevar said. "Knowing what hitters look for on what counts and just getting to know them personally in their approaches has helped me a lot, as well."

But if the young right-hander is figuring out the hitters, it follows that the hitters are figuring out the young right-hander, too.

"I know they are because in that outing against Tampa Bay they were all just looking away, looking away -- looking for my sinker," Hochevar said. "They made an adjustment and I made my adjustment back."

The Rays clipped him for seven runs on nine hits in a 9-2 Royals loss. Hochevar sees such setbacks as a tough, yet essential, part of the learning process. And he's pleased that he's been able to pick up on hitters' tendencies and do all that adjusting. He's also astute enough to know he shouldn't over-adjust in terms of his style. Basically he's a sinkerballer in a constant hunt for ground-ball outs.

"I've got to always remember what kind of pitcher I am and not change so much to where I change the type of pitcher that I am," Hochevar said. "That I stay within my abilities but adjust to the chess match of pitches, location and moving the ball around. Pitching to hitters and not getting in a pattern."

Pitching matchup
KC: RHP Luke Hochevar (6-7, 5.10 ERA)
Hochevar pitched what he considered his best game on July 11 when he beat the Mariners, 3-1, in a five-hit, no-walk performance. The rookie thought the game was a breakthrough because "a light" came on and he trusted his stuff, pitched aggressively in the strike zone, worked both sides of the plate effectively and moved the ball around. In a departure from his results with his sinker, though, he had more fly-ball outs (nine) than ground-ball outs (eight). He also had four strikeouts.

DET: RHP Zach Miner (3-3, 4.23 ERA)
Miner wasn't in the Tigers' plans to become a starter again, but after Eddie Bonine struggled in his past two starts, team officials decided to make him the latest to try to shore up the fifth spot in Detroit's rotation. He held down the job for much of the summer of 2006 after Mike Maroth underwent surgery, and his performance helped the Tigers go on a summer tear to make the postseason. A similar performance this year would be a blessing for Detroit and its search for pitching help.

Crown Points
Gil Meche, who beat the White Sox, 9-1, on Saturday night, is 4-1 with a 3.04 ERA in his past eight starts. He goes next on Thursday night against Tampa Bay in Kansas City. ... The two-hitter that Meche and three relievers threw marked the fourth time for that feat at Chicago by Royals pitchers. The first was a solo effort by Paul Splittorff on April 14, 1973. The losing pitcher in the 3-0 game, Wilbur Wood, pitched a three-hitter. ... Left-hander Dusty Hughes is 2-0 for Triple-A Omaha after holding Round Rock to one run in seven innings of a 9-2 victory. In five starts, he has a 4.03 ERA. Hughes was primarily a reliever earlier this year for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, going 5-2 with three saves and a 2.91 ERA in 20 games (four starts).

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Up next
• Tuesday: Royals (Kyle Davies, 3-1, 4.59) vs. Tigers (Kenny Rogers, 7-6, 4.62), 7:10 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Royals (Zack Greinke, 7-6, 3.90) vs. Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 7-4, 3.41), 1:10 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Royals (Gil Meche, 7-9, 4.55) vs. Rays (Matt Garza, 8-5, 3.68), 7:10 p.m. CT