NewsMeche looks to finish season strong
Kansas City (46-72) at Chicago (61-58), 7:11 p.m. CT
By Jesse Temple / MLB.com
08/18/09 2:31 AM ET
CHICAGO -- Gil Meche is back. And that's good news for the Royals, because the alternative for the past month has mostly centered around this: Meche's back. Meche will make his second start on Tuesday night since coming off the disabled list with an aching back, as he opposes White Sox right-hander Freddy Garcia at U.S. Cellular Field. Before his last outing, Meche hadn't pitched in a game since July 11, when he left in the fourth inning against the Red Sox with back spasms. Meche lasted five innings and threw 83 pitches Thursday against the Twins in his first start off the DL. He allowed four runs on seven hits and had a particularly tough time in the fifth, when he surrendered a three-run home run to Joe Mauer. But he still picked up the victory and also accomplished his other objective: making it through the outing pain-free. "I feel good," said Meche, who anticipated throwing at least 100 pitches against the White Sox. "I do. My last start, I felt great. The fifth inning was terrible, but I threw the ball well for four innings. As long as I can go out there and not feel anything, I should be able to pitch well." Meche has been as durable as any Royals starter since singing a five-year, $55 million contract before the start of the 2007 season. In his first two seasons with Kansas City, he pitched at least 210 innings for the first time in his career. His stint on the DL this season marked his first with the Royals. "It was a situation where I knew I had to go on the DL just because of the pain I was feeling in my back," Meche said. "It was unfortunate, because two years in a row I didn't miss a start, threw a lot of innings, and I wanted to throw 200 innings again this year, but obviously, that's not going to happen. I'm just going to pitch as well as I can in the remaining starts that I have, and hopefully clear up my back in the offseason and make sure it doesn't occur again next year." Meche's five innings pitched against the Twins were atypical of his work with the Royals this season. He had pitched into the sixth inning in 13 of his 19 starts before then. Royals manager Trey Hillman made a point to check with Meche that his short start was not the result of any back issues. "We asked him about that and there wasn't any report of it," Hillman said. "I checked with him again the next day. He was in the weight room, and I asked him how he felt and he said he felt great. He said his back felt very good. That's encouraging." At 5-9, Meche entered the week tied for the seventh-most losses in the American League. And his 4.62 ERA was his highest since his 2005 season with the Mariners. Even in a down year, Royals catcher John Buck said Meche's biggest contribution to the rotation was the fact that he could pitch deep into ballgames. "The troubles we've been having with our bullpen, just going through that rough patch, even if he eats up two or three more innings, that obviously helps for the rest of the series and then also for our bullpen to make them strong," Buck said. "So he's an innings-eater, and he always has a knack for keeping you in ballgames, too, keeping it close. "Even if he falls behind, he's able to give you a chance to get back in the ballgame. When he's on the mound, you feel like you're going to win, and that's kind of what you want in your starters." Meche has tossed 113 innings this season and won't be reaching the 200-inning plateau as he hoped, but he still has one more goal that he wants to achieve -- recording 10 wins for a fourth time in five seasons. "I might have eight or nine starts left," Meche said. "I haven't looked. If I could get to 10 wins, I'll feel like I've done at least a little something. The biggest key for me is finishing up healthy and not having any problems with my back. That's the main goal. It's kind of what I focus on every day -- just doing different treatment stuff so it doesn't happen." Pitching matchupKC: RHP Gil Meche (5-9, 4.62 ERA)
Returning after missing more than a month and at least four starts because of back problems, Meche pitched five innings last Thursday at Minnesota and emerged with a victory. For the first four innings, he filled the strike zone and held the Twins to just one run although he did give up a three-run homer in the fifth. The good news was that there was no recurrence of his back problems. This year against the White Sox, Meche has no decisions in two starts although he went seven innings each time and had a 1.94 ERA. And he's 7-3 against them in his career. CWS: RHP Freddy Garcia (1-1, 4.20 ERA in 2008)
Garcia hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since last September as a member of the Detroit Tigers, but the White Sox are hoping to capture a glimpse of the Garcia who led them to the 2005 World Series championship. He's 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA in three Triple-A starts this season and 8-11 with a 6.12 ERA lifetime against the Royals. Tidbits
The Royals are 4-11 in their past 15 games at U.S. Cellular Field. ... Mike Jacobs' pinch-hit home run in the top of the eighth inning of Monday's 8-7 loss against the White Sox was the Royals' first pinch-hit home run since June 30, 2008, when Miguel Olivo went deep against the Orioles. ... John Bale has allowed 16 of his 23 inherited runners to score this season. ... Yuniesky Betancourt is hitting .333 (15-for-45) with two home runs and nine RBIs in his past 14 games. ... Brayan Pena extended his hitting streak to 11 games. During that span, he is hitting .366 (15-for-41). Tickets
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• Wednesday: Royals (Zack Greinke, 11-7, 2.33) at White Sox (Jose Contreras, 4-11, 5.40), 1:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Royals (Luke Hochevar, 6-6, 5.73) vs. Twins (TBD), 7:10 p.m. CT
Jesse Temple is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
