• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

KC's Paulino gets nod in finale vs. Angels

Jun 1, 2011 - 3:14 PM (Sports Network) - The Kansas City Royals didn't give Felipe Paulino much time to adjust to his new surroundings, but the hurler responded with a good enough impression that the club moved him right into the rotation.

After a stellar Royals debut in a relief role on Friday, Paulino will make his first start of the season this afternoon and try to pitch his new club to a series victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Kauffman Stadium.

One day after being acquired from the Rockies in a trade, the right-handed Paulino relieved Nate Adcock on Friday versus the Rangers and hurled 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. He gave up just one hit and struck out three to earn the call today over Adcock, who will shift back into a long-relief role.

"We got him to be a starter," manager Ned Yost told Kansas City's website on Saturday in naming Paulino the starter.

The 27-year-old had a 7.36 earned run average in 18 relief appearances with the Rockies this year and made 14 starts with the Astros in 2010. He is just 5-20 with a 5.12 ERA in 34 career starts and will face the Angels for the first time.

Paulino will be aiming to pitch the Royals to their first series win today since they took two of three from the Yankees on May 10-12. They have gone 0-5 with a tie in their last six series.

Kansas City made today's meeting a rubber match by claiming last night's contest, 7-3. Eric Hosmer keyed a five-run third inning that gave the club the lead for good with a two-run hit, while Jeff Francoeur also finished with two RBI and Chris Getz had three hits.

Jeff Francis earned his second win of the season by yielding three runs over seven solid innings, helping Kansas City snap a three-game skid with just the club's second victory in 10 games.

"When we scored those runs, it was like a shot in the arm," Francis said. "It was a wake up call. I'm not sure I know exactly what I changed. I just tried to work a little quicker."

Joel Pineiro recorded the loss in a six-inning start, surrendering six runs -- four earned -- on nine hits. Alberto Callaspo and Mark Trumbo both plated a run in the first inning, but Francis steadied himself afterwards and the Angels saw their two-game win streak end.

"He battled," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Francis. "He made some pitches to get out of some jams. We scored early and had a couple opportunities for more and he managed to pitch out of some trouble. Yeah, it could have definitely given the game a different complexion if we had gotten more across than just the two [runs] early."

The Angels' Tyler Chatwood will make the 11th start of his career this afternoon and the rookie did not factor into the decision of his previous outing on Friday in Minnesota.

The 21-year-old allowed four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings before his club rallied for a 6-5 victory. Chatwood remained 3-2 on the season and his ERA rose to 4.13.

The right-handed Chatwood has struggled in four road outings this year, going 1-1 with an undesirable 6.63 ERA, and he faces the Royals for the first time.

Kansas City took three of four from the Angels to open the year.