Aoki on fire at Kauffman Stadium

KANSAS CITY -- Early season statistics can produce some oddities.

Take right fielder Nori Aoki's home vs. away averages as the Royals left Kansas City after Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Twins.

Aoki was hitting a rousing .441 in eight games at Kauffman Stadium as opposed to only .103 in eight games on the road.

Gee, if Aoki could only play all his games at home.

"I might be able to get to where Ted Williams got," Aoki said, laughing before Sunday's game. "So maybe I can play 162 games at home."

All joking aside, Aoki likes playing in his new home ballpark.

"I feel it's just a coincidence. I just started getting hot when we started playing here and I cooled off on the road," he said. "But I really enjoy playing in Kansas City. It's a really beautiful stadium and it's a nice atmosphere here."

Aoki was just 3-for-20 (.150) on the recent journey through Minnesota and Houston. He can start working on that road average this week as the Royals have four games at Cleveland followed by three games at Baltimore.

"It'll even out, that trend can't continue," manager Ned Yost said. "And he won't hit .100 on the road."