Royals call on top prospect Luinder Avila to make 1st big league start with Michael Wacha out sick

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have recalled right-hander Luinder Avila from Triple-A Omaha to make his first major league start in Friday night's series opener against the Brewers, while Michael Wacha has been scratched from the game because of an illness.

Kansas City created space for Avila by putting left-hander Bailey Falter on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation.

The 24-year-old Avila made his big league debut last season, appearing in 13 games out of the bullpen and allowing two runs on seven hits over 14 innings. He is also coming off a strong showing for the gold medal-winning Venezuelan team at the World Baseball Classic, where he did not allow an earned run in two appearances covering 4 1/3 innings.

Many thought the Royals would trade some of their surplus pitching last offseason in an attempt to help their offense, but they wound up holding onto their top arms instead. Now, depth is coming in handy with Kansas City choosing to give Avila his first big league start while fellow starters Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna continue to pitch in Omaha.

The rest of the weekend rotation for Kansas City is unchanged with Seth Lugo starting Saturday and Kris Bubic going Sunday.

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