Hosmer, dropped in lineup, enjoys two-hit day

Eric Hosmer's prolonged struggles at the plate have again led to him being dropped in the Kansas City Royals' batting order.

Manager Ned Yost moved Hosmer from the third slot to the sixth slot Thursday.

"It's just that simple as that," Yost said of trying to take some pressure off Hosmer. "He's battling through a lot of different things. Some of it is mechanics. Some of it is a little bit of confidence. Some of it's a little bit of pressure he's putting on himself to produce in that three hole. We'll take that away from him and put him down in the order a little bit and get him going."

Hosmer went 0-for-5 Wednesday night and entered Thursday 2-for-22 (.091) with one RBI since the All-Star break. Hosmer singled, doubled and scored the only Royals' run Thursday in a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

"There's no doubt this guy is going to be an All-Star caliber player," Yost said. "We just have to get him through all this.

"I'm just trying to put him in a position where the weight of the world is not on his shoulders hitting in the three spot."