The Royals could be without embattled reliever Joakim Soria for at least 10 days after soreness in a lower-back muscle prompted an MRI on Thursday.
The extent of the injury likely will not be known until Friday. The expected absence of Soria, however, does lead to another question: What will the bridge to closer Kelvin Herrera look like now?
For now, Royals manager Ned Yost has indicated that right-hander Brandon Maurer could be in line for more duty in the eighth inning.
“I think Maurer is gonna do it,” Yost said on Wednesday. “It’s just been a little (like) getting his feet underneath him a little bit.