Bailey

Falter

Falter sustained the injury when he was struck by a batted ball from Zach McKinstry during Friday night’s loss to the Tigers. No word yet on exactly how long he’ll be shelved for. Jonathan Bowlan was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take his place in the Royals’ bullpen.

Falter was pulled after 76 pitches with the score tied 2-2. It didn’t initially work out for the Royals, as Daniel Lynch IV gave up a two-run homer to Paul DeJong in the fifth. However, the Royals scored five unanswered runs from there. Typically a weak play in mixed leagues, Falter is an option — though not a particularly good one — this weekend in a home start against the White Sox.

Falter’s debut with the Royals didn’t go as planned. Boston jumped all over him in the opening frame with Jarren Duran capping off a five-run explosion with a three-run moonshot to center field. He somehow managed to get through four frames, finishing with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. It’s unclear when he’ll make his next start, but it figures to be this weekend against the Twins, which is a decent spot for a rebound performance.

That means two of the club’s three pitching acquisitions will jump directly into their starting rotation, leaving out only Stephen Kolek who will either work out of the bullpen or head to Triple-A Omaha to begin his Royals’ tenure.

The Royals added quite a bit of rotation depth on Thursday, so it’s possible that someone like Falter could end up working in a swingman type of role for them. The 28-year-old southpaw holds a 3.73 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 70/39 K/BB ratio across 113 frames through his first 22 starts on the year.

The Royals already picked up a pair of starting pitchers from the Padres earlier in the day in a deal for Freddy Fermin, and now they’ll add to that rotation depth with Falter. The 28-year-old southpaw posted a 3.73 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 70/39 K/BB ratio over 113 innings in 22 starts on the season.

Falter had tossed three hitless innings before giving up a leadoff homer to Willy Adames in the fourth. He hung in there for one more frame, leaving after five with one strikeout while working around four walks. The 28-year-old left-hander will take a 3.73 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 70/39 K/BB ratio across 113 1/3 innings into a start against these same Giants in Pittsburgh on Monday.

In what very well could be Falter’s final start with the Pirates, the left-hander showcased why he should be of interest from pitching-needy teams against a good Detroit lineup. He struck out eight without issuing a free pass while scattering four hits. Assuming he stays in Pittsburgh for at least one more outing, Falter will take on the Giants in San Francisco on Tuesday while taking a 3.82 ERA and 7-5 record into that bout.

After retiring the first two batters of this game, the White Sox jumped on him for three runs via a home run, walk, single and double to put up a three spot in the first inning. He allowed another home run to Luis Robert Jr. in the fourth and was pulled after that frame. It was a good reminder that streaming not-so-great pitchers can always be dangerous this time of year when the weather is warmer. Falter is scheduled to face the Tigers at home next time out.

The Pirates will then follow with Mike Burrows on Saturday and Andrew Heaney on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and then Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes will start the first two games of next week’s series against the Tigers.