--SS Tony Pena Jr., who was hitting .160, was not in the lineup. Newly recalled Mike Aviles went 0-for-3 and struck out looking at three pitches in his first big-league bat in the third inning. "We're not looking at this as a permanent fix at shortstop, but I am going to play him there tonight to see if we can get one more offensive slot and hope it doesn't affect us defensively," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "We all know what Tony can do defensively. This will give Tony a chance to deep breathe. We believe he can continue to get better, and Tony is working at it as hard as he can."

--RHP Kyle Davies, who was 6-2 with a Pacific Coast League-leading 2.06 ERA, will be called up Saturday and will start against the Indians.

--RHP Brett Tomko, who was 2-6 with a 6.11 ERA, will go from the rotation to the bullpen.

--RHP Luke Hochevar has been backed by the worst run support in the majors, 1.91 runs per nine innings. In his past four losses, the opposing pitcher has thrown a complete game.

--3B Alex Gordon's ninth-inning RBI double was the 50th double of his career.

--1B Billy Butler was the only Royal to play in the first 53 games. He was not, however, on the roster for Game 54 -- a 5-1 loss to the Twins. Butler was traveling back to the minors, optioned to Class AAA Omaha before the game Thursday. He has been mired in a batting slump.

BY THE NUMBERS: 5,550 -- Games the Royals played from the time Angels RHP Nolan Ryan no-hit them May 15, 1972, at Kansas City until May 19, 2008, when Red Sox LHP Jon Lester no-hit them at Fenway Park. There were 74 no-hitters in that span. The only clubs with longer current streaks of not getting no-hit are the Pirates, Cubs and Reds.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "If we don't pitch, we don't win. Every so often, maybe once every two weeks, we might be able to not pitch as well and still win because we have an offensive outburst." -- Manager Trey Hillman.