June 27: Royals (31-41) @ Pirates (34-39); latest on Doumit

Ryan Doumit was scheduled to take another step forward on Saturday by joining the team on the field for batting practice. Doumit had been taking BP in the indoor cage, but had yet to do so on the field.

So where do we go from here? Well, Doumit will be in Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday to continue his rehab work there. The Pirates have him scheduled to hit in some simulated games and play in some Gulf Coast League games. He probably won’t catch all nine innings of his initial GCL games, but the simulated games will ensure that he gets enough at-bats.

The GCL Pirates are off next Sunday and since the Pirates don’t want Doumit to take a day off once he goes down there, the plan is to have him join one of the Minor League affiliates (which one hasn’t been decided as of yet) beginning next Sunday.

“We’ll make an adjustment for Sunday,” manager John Russell said. “But again, we’ve got to see how he is once he gets down there. If there is any sort of struggle or a little bit of setback he probably will just stay there and take the off day to regroup and move on. We’re excited about the progress he’s making.”

There is still no exact timetable for his return, but Doumit will have almost a two-week rehab stint before the All-Star break.

***

Bucs bits:

• Charlie Morton has passed his last hamstring tests and has been officially cleared to start Sunday’s series finale.
• As noted in the preview I wrote for tonight’s game, a win by the Pirates on Saturday will give the club its first winning Interleague record since 2001 and only the second since Interleague Play began in 1997. The Pirates sit at 7-6 so far this year.
• The Bucs and Royals will be wearing the Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs throwback uniforms again on Saturday. The throwbacks are a part of a weekend-long African-American Heritage celebration here at PNC Park all weekend.
• RHP Quinton Miller (2008 Draft, 20th round) and RHP Diego Moreno have been promoted from short season State College to low Single-A West Virginia.
• The Pirates’ 34-39 record is identical to the club’s record after 73 games last season.
• Pittsburgh is 11-0 (including a win on Friday) when the team hits two homers in one game.
• Catcher Tony Sanchez, the 4th overall pick in the 2009 Draft, makes his debut with Single-A West Virginia on Saturday. Sanchez was recently in Wichita, Kan., for the Johnny Bench award ceremony. He was one of three finalists for the award, which recognizes the year’s top collegiate catcher. Oklahoma’s J.T. Wise was named the winner.

***

Inadvertently, RHP Rudy Owens (low-A West Virginia) has been going under the radar a bit this season and surely shouldn’t be. In his first 14 starts this year, Owens is 8-1 with a 2.05 ERA. He has 72 strikeouts and only 11 walks in 74 2/3 innings.

Owens, a 28th-round pick in 2006, went 3-6 with a 4.97 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts) for short season State College last year.

So what’s been the key to his breakout season?

“The big thing for me is just working on my mental game I guess,” Owens said. “Just trying to stay in the same mode that I’ve been in and just knowing that what I have isn’t going to be hit I guess. I don’t know if that comes across as cocky, but that’s the way I feel.”

Owens uses a three-pitch mix — fastball, changeup and curveball — and has especially developed his changeup this season. The curveball, too, has been a work in progress, as it wasn’t a pitch Owens really used until forced to in instructional league last fall.

Owens was selected to play in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game, but the Pirates’ management did not let him pitch in the game because of the innings he has already logged this season.

***

Pirates lineup:

1. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
2. Nyjer Morgan (LF)
3. Freddy Sanchez (2B)
4. Adam LaRoche (1B)
5. Delwyn Young (RF)
6. Andy LaRoche (3B)
7. Robinzon Diaz (C)
8. Jack Wilson (SS)
9. Paul Maholm (LHP)

Royals lineup:

1. David DeJesus (LF)
2. Willie Bloomquist (CF)
3. Billy Butler (1B)
4. Jose Guillen (RF)
5. Miguel Olivo (C)
6. Alberto Callaspo (2B)
7. Mark Teahen (3B)
8. Luis Hernandez (SS)
9. Bruce Chen (LHP)