"Third baseman Alex Gordon and pitcher Lenny DiNardo are the latest reinforcements to join the Royals for the season's closing run. Both arrived Tuesday, one day after Class AAA Omaha completed its 64-80 season.

O-Royals manager Mike Jirschele will join the big-league coaching staff before Wednesday's game. The staff has been down one member since Eddie Rodriguez departed in late August to serve as manager of the United States team in the World Cup.

DiNardo immediately joins the rotation as the starter for Thursday's series finale against Detroit at Kauffman Stadium. He was 10-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 29 games, including 23 starts, at Omaha.

"Real good (reports)," manager Trey Hillman said. "He can cut it in, and he can sink it away. One of his best pitches is his changeup, but he's made some progress with his breaking ball. That's made him more effective against left-handed hitters."

The move enables the Royals to provide Zack Greinke with an additional day of rest after throwing a career-high 125 pitches last Saturday against the Angels. Greinke is now slotted to pitch Friday at Cleveland.

Gordon spent the last three weeks at Omaha after struggling to regain his form upon returning from a three-month absence following surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right hip.

"I went down there, go my work in and did what I needed to do, I think," he said. "It felt pretty good when I left but just being in the lineup every day helped a little bit. I got a lot of at-bats down there. Overall, I feel better than when I left.""