Lugo (back tightness) pushed back; Cameron returns Thursday instead

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals have switched up their rotation plans as they wrap up the mid-week series against the Angels and look toward the weekend series against the Twins at Kauffman Stadium.

After originally listing Seth Lugo as the expected starter for Thursday’s series finale against Los Angeles, the Royals announced Wednesday that Noah Cameron will make that start instead.

The probable starters for this weekend’s series against the Twins are listed as:

Friday: RHP Michael Wacha
Saturday: TBA
Sunday: RHP Michael Lorenzen

Manager Matt Quatraro said after Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels that Lugo has been dealing with low back tightness while playing catch the past two days. The team will evaluate Lugo further on Thursday and develop a plan from there; there’s a chance he could slot into that Saturday start if he feels well enough.

After Friday’s game, manager Matt Quatraro said the team wasn’t thinking about giving Lugo extra rest or skipping starts. But clearly, something is not right with the 35-year-old, who has seen his ERA balloon to 4.15 now after being as low as 2.65 at the beginning of July. He’s no longer commanding the ball like the Royals are used to seeing him do, nor is he logging innings.

The severity of Lugo’s back tightness was unknown on Wednesday, as was whether he’s been dealing with it for longer than the past two days as Quatraro said.

Cameron is slotting back into the rotation on nine days of rest after the Royals did skip his start over the weekend against the Tigers because of fatigue. The rookie left-hander has logged 140 2/3 innings this season between the Majors (108) and Minor Leagues (32 2/3). His previous high was 128 2/3 last year, but the Royals envision relying on Cameron during this final month of the season and want him fresh.

Despite six runs over five innings in his last start against the White Sox, Cameron still has a 2.92 ERA over his 19 starts.

“Even in Chicago, I remember warming up, I felt ready to go compete, but I didn’t feel 100% physically my best,” Cameron said Wednesday. “Which obviously was reflected in the velo and stuff. So I definitely think it was a good time for it.”

Cameron has thrown two bullpen sessions in the nine days he’s had off, working on mechanical adjustments that have him feeling better than he did last week. The Royals identified that Cameron’s arm slot has been slowly creeping up over the summer, a sign of fatigue, so he’s worked on getting that back down to where it needs to be. And he’s worked on getting the feel for his changeup again.

“I’m ready to go,” Cameron said.

Right-hander Stephen Kolek -- one of the pitchers the Royals acquired from the Padres at the Trade Deadline -- replaced Cameron on Saturday against the Tigers and allowed one run over six innings. But he was optioned back to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday, meaning he has to stay in the Minors for at least 15 days, so he wouldn’t be available to make this coming Saturday’s start in lieu of Lugo -- unless Kolek is replacing an injured player on the active roster.

• What the playoff picture looks like with under a month to go

The Royals are trying to set their rotation up in a way they think will bring them the most success as they try to make a playoff push, sitting 2 1/2 games out of an American League Wild Card spot ahead of Wednesday night’s game. That includes giving starters extra rest during the crunch time -- but also making sure those starters are going to give them the best start they can when they step onto the field.