Ian Kennedy was penciled in to start for the Royals on Wednesday night in the series finale against the Cleveland Indians in Kansas City.

The operative word was “penciled.”

“Not in ink Youth Thomas Rawls Jersey ,” Kennedy said before playing catch in advance of Tuesday night’s game.

Kennedy won’t be making that start. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to June 30 with a strained left oblique.

Manager Ned Yost said Kennedy felt a little something while playing catch, so the Royals opted not to have him start.

“It doesn’t make any sense to push him,” Yost said. “We’ll bang him one start. We don’t want to jeopardize it and then he could be out six to eight weeks.”

Yost said Kennedy would probably miss just one start before being plugged back into the rotation.

Kennedy agreed the cautious way was the better way.

“I’ve learned from the past of pitching through things,” he said. “And I’ve learned my lesson that compensating is not always the best thing. It leads to more and more soreness and stuff going on later in the season when you’re trying to compensate and do things. So I’m going to be smart.”

Yost did not reveal who would take Kennedy’s rotation spot, but the Royals will probably recall right-hander Trevor Oaks from Triple-A Omaha to start. Oaks has not pitched since Friday, so Wednesday would be his normal day to pitch.

Oaks has put up some remarkable numbers with the Royals’ Pacific Coast League affiliate recently. He is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA in his last seven starts with the Storm Chasers, allowing three earned runs and 29 hits over 42 innings in that span. He has walked 11 and struck out 27.

Oaks, 25, was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team trade on Jan. 4, which sent Joakim Soria to the Chicago White Sox. Oaks was up briefly for the Royals earlier this season, going 0-1 with a 7.45 ERA in three appearances, including one start.

His lone start came on April 28 against the Chicago White Sox as the 26th man on the roster in the second game of a doubleheader. He allowed five earned runs on 12 hits over five innings, while walking one and striking out four.

The Indians used another grand slam Youth Trenton Cannon Jersey , this one by Yan Gomes, to beat the Royals 6-4 on Tuesday night in the middle game of the series. Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the Monday victory. The Indians top the American League with eight grand slams this season.

Right-hander Trevor Bauer, who is 7-6 with a 2.45 ERA, will start the series finale for the Indians. This will be his 18th start this season and his 150th career appearance.

Bauer lost his prior start, a 3-1 decision in Oakland. He allowed two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings.

This will be Bauer’s third start this season against the Royals with the first two at Progressive Field. He is 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in the two starts.

For his career, Bauer is 2-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts against the Royals. He is 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA in six starts at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals have lost five straight and 17 of 20. They have dropped to 35 games below .500 for the first time since ending the 2006 season at 62-100. They have scored four or fewer runs in 24 of their past 25 games.

On June 7, the Colorado Rockies were tied for first place in the National League West and riding high. In the week since, the Rockies have lost five straight games and come to the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Friday with as many questions as answers about themselves as the season heads into the dog days of summer.

Colorado begins a three-game interleague series with the Texas Rangers, a team also in search of answers, at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.

The Rockies will send right-hander Chad Bettis (4-1, 4.40 ERA) to the mound for the opening game and the Rangers will counter with Yohander Mendez (0-0, 0.00).

Colorado activated right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino from the disabled list Thursday Youth P.J. Hall Jersey , and manager Bud Black said Ottavino would go right back into his late-game role.

Ottavino had a 0.95 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings before going to the disabled with a left oblique injury. The team went 5-9 without him in the lineup.

“Otto feels that he wants to jump right back into the mix of pitching deep in the game,” Black told mlb.com. “He’s ready for that. He doesn’t necessarily want to ease back in. Physically, he made it a point of emphasis to get his body in the best shape possible in the offseason. The year before, it wasn’t the case.”

Ottavino did not see action in the Rockies’ 9-3 loss at Philadelphia but will be ready when Colorado takes on hapless Texas.

The Rangers will attempt to end a six-game losing streak that included a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in 11 innings in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

With one out and the bases loaded, the Dodgers‘ Austin Barnes dribbled what appeared to be a sure out at home in front of Rangers reliever Matt Bush. However, Bush’s throw to home for the force pulled catcher Carlos Perez off the plate, allowing Enrique Hernandez to score the deciding run.

Texas is now a season-worst 18 games back of the first-place Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros in the American League West after suffering a two-game sweep by the Dodgers.

Bettis gave up three home runs and lasted just four innings in his last start, a home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The good news is his velocity returned after a dip for three starts. He is a Lubbock, Texas, native who pitched at Texas Tech University.

Bettis will make his 14th start of the season and his eighth on the road. He has no-decisions and a 7.67 ERA in his past six starts since May 11.

Bettis has pitched against Texas only once, getting a no-decision on Aug. 11, 2016, in Arlington Youth Daryl Worley Jersey , a 12-9 Rockies win.

Mendez will make his first big league start Friday. In 10 minor league starts this season, he has an 0-6 record with a 5.26 ERA. In one relief appearance with the Rangers this year, he didn’t allow a run in two-thirds of an inning.

Mendez, who is ranked the Rangers’ seventh-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, has joined the ballclub from Triple-A Round Rock. He has been a September call-up for Texas each of the past two seasons, and featured with the Rangers earlier this season when he was called up May 3.

In 10 career major league appearances — all in relief — Mendez has posted a 0-1 record with a 7.31 ERA (13 earned runs in 16 innings).

“It’s going to be multiple starts,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said Wednesday about Mendez’s upcoming major league stint. “He’s going to have the opportunity to show us what he can do as a starter.

“We’re still in the business of winning baseball games,” Banister added. “It’s about development, but it is the big leagues, and you still develop and still give yourself the opportunity to win baseball games.”