Mendoza's illness bumps Royals' other starters forward
Luis Mendoza has strep throat, which has led the Kansas City Royals to revise their rotation for the final two games of the series against the Chicago White Sox.
Mendoza was scheduled to start Wednesday, but he has been scratched.
"He was really sick," manager Ned Yost said Tuesday before the Royals dropped the series opener to Chicago, 3-2. "I sent him to the doctor. He won't make his start (Wednesday). With the off day (Monday), we'll bump everybody up and keep them on regular rest and be all right."
Left-hander Bruce Chen will start Wednesday in Mendoza's place. Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who was scheduled to start Friday against the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game series, will instead start Thursday.
When Mendoza will start again remains up in the air.
"Somewhere in the Cleveland series if he's feeling up to it," Yost said. "Strep throat, when you're older, knocks you for a loop a little bit. We'll see where his strength is, see how he feels, and if we need to skip him throughout the whole turn we can, but if not, we'll look to insert him somewhere in the Cleveland series."
Yost is still planning to have right-hander Jake Odorizzi, the Royals' top pitching prospect, make his first major league start this weekend against the Indians.
Yost said Mendoza's illness doesn't affect the plans for Odorizzi.
