Bruce Chen allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks over five innings in Thursday's loss to the Twins. Chen was unscored upon in the first four frames, but he hardly pitched well, permitting eight runners to reach base. The thin ice finally broke on him in the fifth, when he retired the first two batters but then walked one and allowed three straight extra-base hits to give up the lead. It was his worst outing since coming off the DL, as he had given up just five earned runs over three starts. He'll take a 3.56 ERA and 1.45 WHIP into next week's start against the White Sox.

The Royals will start Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, Jeff Francis, Felipe Paulino, Kyle Davies and Danny Duffy in the first six games of the second half. It will be interesting to see how long they'll stick with the six-man rotation. Davies has been awful and doesn't deserve a spot anymore, but the Royals are strangely committed to him. Meanwhile, Duffy has pitched much better of late.

Bruce Chen limited the White Sox to one run over six innings in a victory Wednesday. Chen is going to draw the interest of contenders if he keeps this up. He's 5-2 with a 3.26 ERA in his 10 starts for the Royals. Kansas City will likely be open to moving him since he's a free agent at the end of the year.

Bruce Chen was decent in his first start back from the disabled list Friday, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks over six innings in a loss to the Cubs. The left-hander was pretty efficient, throwing just 83 pitches, with the final run charged to him after he had already left the game. Chen generally is pretty effective as long as he can avoid the longball, which he was able to do tonight. He'll take a 3.88 ERA and 1.38 WHIP into next week's start against the Padres.

Royals activated LHP Bruce Chen (shoulder) from the 15-day disabled list. He'll make his first start since May 5 this evening, taking on the Cubs at home. Chen is far from an ace, but should help provide some stability to a Kansas City rotation that has been turning in a lot of short outings of late. He's worth an own in most AL-only leagues.

Bruce Chen (shoulder) is likely to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. Chen just finished up a rehab stint at Triple-A Omaha on Saturday and won't be available to start for the Royals until Friday. But they'll get him back on the active 25-man roster anyway. Chen is returning to a 3.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.

Bruce Chen (strained lat) allowed four runs over five innings Saturday for Triple-A Omaha in what is expected to be his final rehab start. Chen didn't fare too well on his rehab assignment, giving up eight runs over seven innings. But, the important thing is that he appears to be healthy and is expected to rejoin the Royals rotation next weekend.