"Already missing José Guillen, the Royals' lineup was without a second middle-of-the-order hitter Sunday as third baseman Alex Gordon rested because of a sore hip.

"Day to day. That's the only update," Royals manager Trey Hillman said of Gordon.

Gordon was removed in the sixth inning Saturday night. Hillman indicated that Gordon, who had moved up to the fifth spot in the batting order after Guillen went on the disabled list, had aggravated his hip sliding into second base early in the game and while later leaving the batter's box after grounding into a double play.

His absence Sunday gave Mark Teahen the start at third base. Only six games into the season, Teahen has already started at three different positions (second base and right field being the others).

Buck returns with blast

After playing more than 100 games each of the last four seasons, catcher John Buck had received only one start and four at-bats through the first five games before returning to the lineup Sunday in place of Miguel Olivo.

In his first at-bat, in the bottom of the third, Buck connected for the Royals' first home run at the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium. That tied the game at 1-1.

In the fourth, he laced an RBI single through the left side, extending the lead to 3-1. And in the eighth, he added an RBI double, capping the team's two-out rally and finishing the game three for four with three RBIs."