Salvy gets break before finale against O's

KANSAS CITY -- Salvador Perez will be back behind the plate for the Royals on Sunday after getting a break from the starting lineup on Saturday against the Orioles.

"I wanted to give Sal a day off and it's generally a day game after a short turnaround, but with [James] Shields going [Sunday], I wanted to pair him up with Sal," manager Ned Yost said. "So, we chose to give him the day today."

With Perez out, Yost dropped Eric Hosmer into the third spot in the order and elevated Alcides Escobar to the No. 2 hole.

"That kind of creates a hole in the middle of the lineup," Yost said. "Esky's been swinging the bat real well so we decided we'd give it a try and see if we could get something going."