NewsRecovered, Meche on top of his game
Kansas City (29-38) vs. St. Louis (38-31), 1:10 p.m. CT
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
06/20/09 8:45 PM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Take it from two guys who had good views, Royals pitcher Gil Meche had everything together in his most recent start, against Arizona."I'd refer to him as 'lights out' last game," third baseman Mark Teahen said. "It looks like he's fully healthy and his back problem is behind him. He just seemed to be real aggressive with his fastball and getting ahead with his fastball. It was good to see because early in the season, it seemed he was able to throw it with effortlessness, if that's a word."
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David DeJesus watched from left field as Meche worked through nine innings and a whopping 132 pitches to dispatch the D-backs, 5-0.
"He looked just more confident, he had that little swagger," DeJesus said. "He got ahead of a lot of hitter, and when he had to put 'em away, he was able to put 'em away."
The hope, of course, is that Meche can carry through against St. Louis in the I-70 Series finale on Sunday. He didn't face the Cardinals this year in St. Louis, but he beat them, 7-2, last year at Kauffman Stadium.
What was so encouraging for the Royals is that Meche easily withstood throwing 22 pitches in the ninth inning alone, and he did so while reaching a career high in pitches thrown. The 132 offerings were the highest total by a KC pitcher since Chad Durbin unleashed 137 way back on July 28, 2001.
"It looked like he could throw 150," DeJesus said.
Meche pitched a four-hitter and walked just one.
"He threw great in Cleveland the time before that, too, and we're a team that relies on our starting pitching, so it's nice to see him pitching like we know he can," Teahen said.
"Hopefully, it'll be more of the same Sunday."
June has to be Meche's favorite month. He's 20-6 over his career in June, with a 2.82 ERA. So far this June he's 2-0 with a 0.41 ERA in three starts.
Meche credits his recent surge in part to moving his push-off foot a few inches toward the first-base side of the rubber. Could that small change make such a big difference?
"You wouldn't think so, but I guess it's a game of inches," Teahen said. "Hopefully the adjustment stays there."
Pitching matchupKC: RHP Gil Meche (4-5, 3.31 ERA)
Meche withstood the 85-degree heat and the D-backs very nicely on Tuesday night, as he tossed a shutout, firmly putting to rest earlier concerns over his cranky back and his flagging stamina. The four-hitter extended Meche's personal streak of scoreless innings to 16. In Interleague play, Meche has a 14-4 record with a 3.29 ERA in 23 games. STL: RHP Adam Wainwright (7-4, 3.33 ERA)
After a three-start lull, Wainwright looked like himself once again his last time out. The Cardinals would love to see him keep it up for a while. One thing they can count on from Wainwright is innings. He has gone at least six innings in 12 consecutive starts, and he's lasted seven or more in six of his past seven. The Cardinals are 9-5 in his starts. His ERA on the road is 4.38 vs. 2.55 at home. Crown points
Coco Crisp said any speculation about possible surgery or treatment on his ailing right shoulder is premature right now. He's headed on Monday to an appointment with the noted Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. "I'll talk to him and look at whatever films we've had done here, and I don't know exactly what's going on from there. I'm along for the ride," Crisp said. ... For Father's Day on Sunday, players and on-field personnel will wear blue wristbands and blue ribbon uniform decals to promote prostate cancer awareness. Fans can make donations to the Prostate Cancer Foundation at www.pcf.org for each home run hit on Father's Day. The "Home Run Challenge" has raised more than $31 million for prostate cancer research in 13 years. ... Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, in Kansas City as part of the prostate cancer program, visited with Hillman. ... In the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat the last two days were Alesia Hamilton, a St. Joseph, Mo., kindergarten teacher who helped 71-year-old Alferd Williams learn to read, and Marjorie Williams, superintendent of the Hickman Mills School District and a leading educator for 35 years. ... Royals TV broadcasters Ryan Lefebvre and Frank White are scheduled to call Sunday's game from the roof of the Rivals restaurant in right field. ... Shortstop Jeff Bianchi, who hit .300 for Class A Wilmington, had an impressive debut on Friday night for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Bianchi went 3-for-5 with three doubles and two runs scored in a 9-5 win over Springfield. ... Wilmington was no-hit by Winston-Salem's Levin Maxwell in a seven-inning 4-0 loss in the first game of a doubleheader. Maxwell is a White Sox farmhand. Tickets
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• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Royals (Zack Greinke, 8-3, 1.96) at Astros (Russ Ortiz, 3-2, 3.60), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Royals (Luke Hochevar, 2-3, 6.61) at Astros (Brandon Backe, 0-0, 10.38), 7:05 p.m. CT
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
