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Royals prospect Hosmer set to debut vs. A's

May 6, 2011 - 3:05 PM (Sports Network) - The Kansas City Royals welcome super prospect Eric Hosmer into the lineup this evening when they open a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium.

Hosmer, a first baseman, had been hitting .439 with three homers and 15 RBI in 26 games at Triple-A Omaha. To make room for him the Royals optioned Kila Ka'aihue, who had been batting a mere .195.

"He's ready, it's as simple as that," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "The kid's hitting .440 and he's ready to come up."

Kansas City continued to be one of the league's pleasant surprises on Thursday, as Melky Cabrera went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs to help the Royals dominate the Baltimore Orioles, 9-1, in the deciding game of a three- game set.

Chris Getz and Mike Aviles each had two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who got back into the win column after a 3-2 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday that ended a four-game win streak.

Royals starter Bruce Chen (4-1) was solid in seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits with five strikeouts.

"I felt good and I felt like my teammates did an outstanding job of scoring early and playing real good defense," Chen said.

Heading to the hill for the upstart Royals tonight will be right-hander Sean O'Sullivan, who is 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA. O'Sullivan battled through a stomach bug his last time out on Saturday against Minnesota and allowed just one earned run over six innings, but walked seven batters in a no-decision. He has issued 13 free passes in 21 innings this season.

"In the bullpen, I didn't feel real strong," O'Sullivan said. "I spent most of the night bending over a toilet with a little bit of a food virus, and my legs were pretty weak out there."

O'Sullivan is 0-1 in three games (one start) against the A's with a 3.24 ERA.

Oakland, meanwhile, will counter with lefty Gio Gonzalez, who won for the first time in three starts on Sunday. Gonzalez beat the Texas Rangers, holding them to a pair of runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings, while striking out seven to run his record to 3-2 to go along with a 2.70 ERA.

"Kansas City's not going to be easy," Gonzalez said. "The last two starts weren't easy, either. This game, it just gets better and better. I just try to do my best to minimize damage."

Gonzalez is just 1-2 lifetime against the Royals with a 7.85 ERA in four starts.

The A's come into tonight's affair after losing two of three to the red-hot Cleveland Indians following a 4-3 setback in 12 innings on Thursday at the Coliseum.

Ryan Sweeney finished 5-for-6 with two RBI for Oakland, which ended a seven- game homestand with a 4-3 record. Craig Breslow (0-2) was charged with the loss, allowing two runs on three hits in the final inning.

Brett Anderson went nine innings for the A's and allowed two runs and seven hits.

"It's a tough one to lose," A's manager Bob Geren said. "It was well pitched. Anderson did an incredible job. We came back and battled until the end."

Oakland won six of its nine meetings with the Royals last season.