NewsIt's all Wright for Royals bullpen now
Kansas City (56-85) at Cleveland (60-80), 6:05 p.m. CT
By Matt O'Donnell / MLB.com
09/12/09 12:34 AM ET
CLEVELAND -- Jamey Wright has stood out in an injury-plagued season for the Royals bullpen. Wright, a starter for most of his career, has been manager Trey Hillman's iron-man reliever. Going into Saturday's game with the Indians, Wright had pitched far more innings than any other reliever and performed well in those outings. "We've ridden him hard," Hillman said, "and we've needed to. He's had some really productive outings." Before last season, Wright had been reluctant to come out of the 'pen. He was a starter for the first 10 years of his career, but injuries had cut his playing time significantly. In 2008, the Rangers made him a full-time reliever, in part, to keep him healthy. Since then, Wright has been able to avoid injury and still perform at a high level. "I've had my turn as a starter," Wright said. "I told myself that I needed to embrace this role, and it kind of took off from there." After a solid season with the Rangers, the Royals signed Wright. And he has been just about the only reliever from Opening Day who hasn't gotten hurt at some point in the season. Injuries to Joakim Soria, Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, Doug Waechter and others depleted the Royals bullpen. "As far as dependability, he's been outstanding," Hillman said. Wright has pitched in 16 more games than any other Royals reliever going into Saturday's action and is one of the most used relievers in the American League. He was 1-5 with a respectable 4.73 ERA in 70 1/3 innings. He said the more he pitches, the better he feels. "I'm almost better when I pitch three or four days in a row," Wright said. "I'm not throwing as many innings and I feel good." Pitching matchupKC: RHP Luke Hochevar (6-9, 6.10 ERA)
Things continue to go awry for Hochevar, who hasn't won since July 25. In his last eight starts, he's 0-6 with a 7.55 ERA. In his last outing, against the Angels, he didn't make it through the fourth inning. He gave up seven runs on nine hits and two walks. Having command problems, Hochevar threw too many flat pitches right over the heart of the plate. That was a far cry from his earlier accomplishments, which included a 13-strikeout game, an 80-pitch complete game victory and a string of four straight winning decisions. One of his most recent losses was to the Indians, 4-2, on Aug. 26, but he gave up just three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. CLE: LHP David Huff (9-7, 6.23 ERA)
Huff was magnificent in a win over the Twins on Sunday. He went seven innings in which he allowed just a run on two hits with four walks and two strikeouts, and he posted his team-high ninth win in the process. Huff has had an inconsistent rookie season, and he's nearing the Tribe's prescribed cap for his innings for the year. But after a 10-day break between starts, he showed no signs of rust against the Twins. Tidbits
Lenny DiNardo, who was promoted from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, will start Wednesday against the Tigers. Bruce Chen will be moved to the bullpen. "I think Lenny deserves an opportunity to show us what he's got," Hillman said. "We've seen Chen pitch." ... Class A pitcher Tim Melville helped the Burlington Bees advance to the second round of the Midwest League playoffs. Melville pitched six innings, allowing just two hits in the 4-0 win. ... Before Friday, the last time the Royals played Cleveland they lost in 10 innings after the game-winning hit deflected off a seagull in early June. There are no gulls around the park anymore, because the Indians now intermittently shoot off fireworks to scare the birds away. Tickets
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• Sunday: Royals (Kyle Davies, 7-9, 5.54) at Indians (Carlos Carrasco, 0-1, 12.38), 12:05 p.m. CT
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Royals (Robinson Tejeda, 2-1, 3.21) at Tigers (Jarrod Washburn, 9-8, 3.60), 6:05 p.m. CT
Matt O'Donnell is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
