Matheny on Santana: 'He stepped up big'

The Royals had an unexpected bullpen game Friday night against the Twins when starting pitcher Brady Singer was removed from the game after he was hit in the foot by a line drive. The six remaining innings of the game were left to three Royals relievers, but it was Ervin Santana who made the biggest impression.

“He was built up for four, and we needed to get Wade [Davis] on the mound. That’s impressive physically,” manager Mike Matheny said. “And I would say it’s equally, if not more so, impressive how he’s emotionally handling this and wanting to contribute, wanting and getting built up to come and help and show what he can do.”

Santana took over in the fourth after Tyler Zuber allowed three earned runs in the third to an aggressive Twins offense. Among the 16 batters Santana faced, only one was able to push a run across in his four innings of work.

“It was trying to minimize the damage. I know they’re very aggressive, and they hit a lot of home runs,” Santana said. “So, I just try to keep the ball in the park and then keep the ball down, and anything can happen. And it was a good thing I did throw four innings today. It was good. I saved the bullpen.”

Kansas City is in the midst of playing 10 games in 10 days, and a bullpen game out the gate was not in the plans. But moving forward, a taxed bullpen shouldn’t be a concern, as Santana impressively took the bulk of the innings after not pitching in 10 days.

“For me the key was, don’t think about how many days I’ve gone without throwing,” Santana said. “Just go out there and throw strikes. Get the ball down for the most part.”

The veteran is settling into his new role as a reliever. Friday’s game was his third appearance this season and the most he’s been used in an outing. He finished the night with over a 50% strike rate and two strikeouts.

While Santana hasn’t seen a lot of playing time thus far, he’s ready to go every game if his name is called.

“[Trying] to stay sharp mentally and then not get into a negative spot in his mind. Both of those combined are very impressive,” Matheny said. “He comes out making really good pitches, and really just the one mark against him. I was extremely impressed, as I’ve been all season long. We’ve talked about pros -- this guy’s a pro. He comes in every day with a great attitude, ready to do whatever we need him to do, and today we needed him to step up and he stepped up big.”

Singer OK after liner to foot
During a bases-loaded situation in the second inning Friday night, the starter Singer was hit on his left foot with a 105.5 mph comebacker from Josh Donaldson that resulted in a scary scene.

The right-hander collapsed immediately after he was hit and was quickly attended to by head athletic trainer Nick Kenney. While Singer was able to walk off the mound with Matheny and Kenney next to him, he was removed from the game to receive medical attention.

As painful as the comebacker looked, Singer is doing OK.

"He looks good this morning, he's actually walking around really, really well. Our trainer Nick Kenney told us last night that he was responding well to treatment even as early as after the game yesterday,” Matheny said. “So, they're very encouraged.”

Singer was in visible discomfort as he writhed in pain on the mound while the play continued.

“You just never know when you see a player go down like that. It's always really scary,” Matheny said. “They don't know exactly what's going to come from the next set of eyes to get on it from the medical side to see what's going on, but they seem to be pleased with what they're seeing so far.”

Roster moves

• After spending the first month of the season working through his mechanics at the Royals’ alternate training site, left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic made big enough strides to earn his callup. Bubic pitched in four Spring Training games with an 8.59 ERA.

• Infielder Ryan McBroom was optioned to the alternate training site after collecting one hit in six at-bats. He struck out five times with a .167 batting average.

• Right-handed pitcher Kyle Zimmer was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left trap strain. In a corresponding move, right-hander Jake Newberry was called up from the Royals' alternate training site. Zimmer made 11 appearances out of the bullpen with a 3.38 ERA in 13 1/3 innings.