Bannister recalled to Kansas City

The Royals on Tuesday recalled right-handed pitcher Brian Bannister and announced that he will make Wednesday’s start against the Indians in Cleveland. The club cleared room on its 25-man roster by placing reliever Doug Waechter on the 15-day disabled list.

Brian Bannister last pitched on Sunday, when he tossed two perfect innings against the Albuquerque Isotopes before being lifted for reliever Josh Newman. Newman was warming up during the game’s first two innings, so Bannister’s early exit led to speculation that he might rejoin the big league club this week.

Royals manager Trey Hillman over the weekend announced that Horacio Ramirez would make Wednesday’s start, giving the Royals’ other four starters an additional day of rest. Ramirez, however, has been roughed up in his 5.2 innings of work this season, so the chances looked good that the Royals might recall Bannister or Luke Hochevar to pitch instead.

The decision to recall Bannister may have been made after his start last Tuesday, when he blanked Round Rock over seven innings while striking out four batters and yielding just three hits. Including Sunday’s shortened outing, Bannister is 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA for Omaha this season, but he has thrown nine straight scoreless innings over his last two outings. In 13 innings, Bannister has walked just one batter while striking out eight.

Hochevar, meanwhile, put together a stellar outing on Monday against Albuquerque, yielding just one run in eight innings pitched. On the season, the 25-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA.

Bannister spent the 2008 season with the Royals, making 32 starts while compiling a 9-16 record with a 5.76 ERA. In three major league seasons, Bannister has a career record of 23-26 with a 4.81 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 385.2 innings pitched. In five career starts against Cleveland, Bannister is 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA, including a 2-1 mark in 2008.