Herrera amped for return to Royals' bullpen

By Dick Kaegel and Kathleen Gier

July 19, 2013

KANSAS CITY -- Reliever Kelvin Herrera rejoined the Royals prior to Friday night's game against the Tigers, looking and feeling rejuvenated.

During his second Minor League stay this season, Herrera pitched a total of 13 1/3 innings for Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, giving up just three hits and two runs with three walks, two hit batters and 21 strikeouts. Both runs came in the first of his seven outings.

"I feel great, I feel ready to go, ready to help this team," he said.

Herrera said he mixed in more breaking balls and changeups with his fastball, which often clocks 100 mph. He also worked on finishing off his pitches which enabled him to keep the ball down.

"It helped my command -- not a lot of walks," Herrera said.

The Royals wasted no time getting Herrera back into action. He relieved Ervin Santana in the eighth inning and retired both batters he faced in a 1-0 victory over the Tigers.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill. Kathleen Gier is an associate reporter for MLB.com.