Brian Bannister was recalled Tuesday from Class AAA Omaha and was immediately inserted into the rotation. He will start Wednesday, replacing Horacio Ramirez, who was the Royals' lone left-handed starter.
Ramirez will be used out of the bullpen as a middle to long reliever. The Royals signed Ramirez to a one-year, $1.8 million contract in the offseason with the hopes he could be a left-handed starter after working solely out of the bullpen in 2008. Bannister, who was pulled from his Sunday start against Albuquerque after retiring all six batters he faced, was 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA starts in the Pacific Coast League. He was 9-16 with a 5.76 ERA in 32 starts last season with Kansas City. Bannister snapped a 13-game winless streak before defeating the Indians on Sept. 14.
To make room for Bannister on the roster, the Royals placed right-hander Doug Waechter on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Saturday with a lateral strain in his right elbow. Waechter gave up two home runs in one inning Friday in the Royals' 12-3 rout of the Rangers.
Waechter is the fourth Royal to be placed on the 15-day disabled list. The others are Jose Guillen, Alex Gordon and John Bale. Waechter said he thought he could pitch through the elbow strain, but the Royals opted to take a more cautious route and rest him.
INDIANS 8, ROYALS 7: Sidney Ponson lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up six runs, including three on a Grady Sizemore fourth-inning home run. After scoring one run in the first inning, the Royals tallied six runs in the eighth and ninth innings off the Cleveland bullpen, but they came up short. David DeJesus hit a two-run homer in the ninth. The Royals scored four runs in the eighth to pull within 6-5, but in the bottom of the inning, reliever Juan Cruz gave up a two-run homer to Victor Martinez that turned out to be the difference.
