Joseph makes most of brief stay in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY -- Left-handed reliever Donnie Joseph was only with the Royals for a day in his most recent stint, but he made a quick impact by pitching two scoreless innings in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Red Sox.

Joseph, who was called up from Triple-A Omaha on Saturday, was optioned back to Omaha on Sunday when starter Wade Davis was reinstated from the family emergency list.

"I felt good out there," Joseph said after the game. "I just wanted to keep the score like it was and get a chance to come back and win it."

It was Joseph's second Major League stint of the season, during which he has pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits with three strikeouts and four walks vs. the Yankees, Indians and Red Sox.

"It's tough, but you get to match up and see what you're made of and if your stuff's really that good," Joseph said. "It was fun to face them."

Joseph is 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA through 41 games with Triple-A Omaha, where he's pitched 50 innings of relief and allowed 19 runs on 36 hits.