Royals PPD in Baltimore on Saturday; makeup Monday

BALTIMORE -- The Royals will now have three off-days to gear up for the upcoming stretch in the schedule that has them playing 19 games in 17 days this month.

Saturday’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards was postponed because of steady rains all night, and it will be made up on Monday at 11:05 a.m. CT, which was a mutual off-day for both clubs. Monday’s game will come after a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday (12:35 p.m CT), making up Friday’s postponement.

The good news is the radar doesn’t have much rain forecasted for a Mother’s Day full of baseball on Sunday.

Tickets for Saturday’s postponed game will be valid for Monday, no exchange necessary. If fans are unable to attend the makeup date, no action is required. The Orioles will reach out via email to all ticket holders unable to attend Monday’s makeup date with an offer for complimentary tickets in a similar seating area for a wide variety of game options later this season. More information can be found here.

Saturday marked the Royals’ third day in a row without baseball, as Thursday was a scheduled off-day. The doubleheader Sunday and another doubleheader on May 17 against the White Sox -- making up the first home series of the season that was delayed because of the lockout -- have the Royals playing 19 games over the next two and a half weeks.

Their next scheduled off-day is May 25.

“It’s not what we would want,” manager Mike Matheny said. “One day [off] in there is good, but three days is not ideal. But we have no control over that. So you know that you’re stocked up some. But it’s not going to carry you any further than what I believe one day would do.”

The Royals’ pitching plans still include right-hander Zack Greinke (vs. righty Jordan Lyles) and left-hander Daniel Lynch (vs. lefty Bruce Zimmermann) pitching Games 1 and 2, respectively, of Sunday’s doubleheader. Right-hander Carlos Hernández will start Monday, eight days after his last start on April 30 against the Yankees. He will face righty Tyler Wells.

Matheny wasn’t ready to announce who the 27th man will be for Sunday’s doubleheader, but a two-man taxi squad of right-hander Matt Peacock and catcher Sebastian Rivero were set to arrive in Baltimore on Saturday night. Royals pitchers were able to play catch both Friday and Saturday to keep their arms loose, and hitters had access to high-velocity machines in the cages to stay up to speed with their timing.

“We’ll be here for a while, getting them as much as they want and staying as long as they need,” Matheny said.