KANSAS CITY -- As Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen prepared to make his Major League debut in Monday night's 3-1 loss to the Royals, he was a man in demand.
Jansen made the rounds for a series of interviews and tried to put into perspective just how special the evening at Kauffman Stadium would be for him.
"It's still pretty surreal," Jansen said before the opener of a four-game series. "My brother was a baseball player, my dad was a baseball player. I'm glad they can live this through me. After the first catch or the first ball that I block, it's just play ball."
Jansen singled through the left side in his first at-bat against Royals starter Brad Keller and missed getting his first RBI as left fielder Alex Gordon nailed Russell Martin, who was trying to score from second on the play, at the plate to end the inning.
He added a second single in the eighth, a slow roller down the third-base line, off Royals reliever Brandon Maurer. Jansen finished 2-for-3 and he threw out Rosell Herrera trying to steal second.
"When I got in the box, I was just trying to breathe and put a barrel on the ball," Jansen said of his first hit. "That's what happened, just found a hole. I couldn't believe it at first as I was rounding first base."
Making the evening all the more meaningful was the fact that Jansen's older brother, Matthew, lives in Kansas City. Matthew Jansen is a school teacher in St. Joseph, Mo., which is a short drive from Kansas City.
"He knew the Blue Jays were coming to Kansas City," Danny Jansen said. "It couldn't have worked out better."
Jansen's parents were able to come down from Wisconsin to see the debut in which Jansen caught right-hander Sean Reid-Foley, who went five innings and took the loss in his Major League debut.
Jansen took comfort in the reassuring words of his Major League teammates.
"They just told me it's the same game," Jansen said. "The lights are a little brighter and you can see a little better. But it's the same game. That's the best advice I've received."
Worth noting
• After optioning right-hander Danny Barnes to Buffalo on Sunday night, the Blue Jays announced on Monday that right-hander Brandon Compton has been designated for assignment.
• Yangervis Solarte's right oblique injury is being called a Grade 2 strain. Solarte is scheduled to be evaluated in three weeks.