Buehrle Just Too Good

The Royals sported a slightly different line up yesterday. David DeJesus missed his second consecutive game with a strained left hamstring and it sounds like he may be headed to the DL. Bell said that he'd wait to see how DeJesus feels in New York before they make any decisions. With DeJesus out of the line up and lefty Mark Buehrle on the mound, Bell gave Mientkiewicz the day off and put Graffanino at first. Graf hit lead off, and Shane Costa, who played center, hit in the nine hole.

Buehrle shut the Royals down for eight innings—allowing no runs, 6 hits, and only 1 walk. Elarton pitched well, giving up 3 earned runs in 8 innings, but not well enough. I'd sure like to see him in the number three spot in the rotation because he doesn't match up against guys like Buehrle. Unfortunately, we don't really have an ace, so Elarton just needs to continue to keep us in games while hoping that we can find a way to scrape out a couple of runs.

We had a couple of shots in this game. In the sixth inning Graffanino tried to stretch a single into a double, but Scott Podsednik threw him out. According to the replays, it looked like Graf might have beat the tag, but that's the way it goes in baseball sometimes. Then in the ninth, with the Royals trailing 3-0, Sweeney blistered a ball toward third base. Crede made a great diving stab and when he raised his glove to show the ball to the umpire, it came out of his glove. The third base umpire called Sweeney safe but he was overruled by the home plate umpire. The next guy up, Reggie Sanders blasted a home run, but it was just a harmless solo shot and the Royals lost 3-1.

The guys in blue leave for New York this afternoon to begin a series which includes three afternoon games on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Tuesday, the Royals will send Joe Mays (0-1, 12.46 ERA) to the mound against Chien-Ming Wang (0-0, 3.86 ERA).

After the Hernandez fiasco yesterday, the Royals are considering their options for the fifth spot in the rotation, which will come into play in Tampa this weekend. Sounds like Mike Wood may get a spot start.

Angel Berroa Walk Watch: 5 games played without any walks.