Back from injury, Michael Lorenzen expected to start for Kansas City Royals Wednesday

The Kansas City Royals will get a key starter back on Wednesday night.

Prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Washington Nationals, Royals manager Matt Quatraro revealed that right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list.

Lorenzen has been sidelined due to a left hamstring strain. In recent weeks, he made a couple rehab starts and threw a live bullpen session at Kauffman Stadium. Lorenzen cleared further medical evaluations and is set to start Wednesday at Nationals Park.

“The training staff has done a great job to help me get back as fast as possible,” Lorenzen said. “We have to sprint right now and we are looking to do everything we can to come out on top. I’m happy to be able to contribute, you know, starting (Wednesday).”

The Royals will also shuffle their rotation.

Second-year pitcher Alec Marsh is expected to shift to the bullpen. He has the ability to pitch in different roles and will help replace relievers James McArthur and Hunter Harvey, both of whom were shut down for the remainder of the season.

“He is still built up, so he could be a multi-inning guy,” Quatraro said of Marsh. “We don’t have to pigeonhole him into any one role.”

Lorenzen owns a 1.85 ERA in five starts since joining the Royals. KC acquired him at the MLB trade deadline from the Texas Rangers.

Lorenzen has solidified the back-end of the starting rotation and fit seamlessly alongside starters Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Michael Wacha since arriving to the organization.

The Royals will likely be cautious with Lorenzen’s workload. Still, Lorenzen is confident in his ability to provide quality innings.

“Just give everything that you can,” Lorenzen said. “And I’ll let (Quatraro) make the decisions on, you know, how long he needs to keep me out there. Obviously, I’m going to go out there and try to do the best I can and give them as many innings as I possibly can.”

Lorenzen mentioned he needed to check a few boxes before returning to the mound. He was excited to finish his live bullpen without any hiccups. The key was to make sure his left hamstring could support the amount of weight needed when throwing a baseball.

“All it takes is one pitch for it to be down for two more weeks,” Lorenzen said. “So, we were trying to do everything we could to avoid that. And, you know, there is a time where I can put everything into this leg and I will be all right.”

Lorenzen believes he checked that box. Now, he looks to help the Royals secure a series victory over the Nationals.

KC sits at 83-74 and tied with the Detroit Tigers for second-place in the American League Wild Card race. Both teams are two games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and 2 ½ games clear of the Seattle Mariners.

The Royals’ magic number is down to four games. This includes the total number of Royals wins and Twins losses down the stretch.

The Twins lost on Tuesday to the Miami Marlins. The Royals are in a good position to clinch a playoff spot with five games remaining.