The Royals waited until the last moment to divulge their pitching plans for Wednesday’s series finale against the Giants at Oracle Park. They had plenty of options available to them. They brought Triple-A prospect Luinder Avila along on the taxi squad in case of an emergency — he was stretched out and could’ve started, if needed.

Indianapolis Colts owner and chief executive officer Jim Irsay, who spent his career in the NFL, has died Wednesday afternoon, the team announced.

It had been more than a month since Perez last circled the bases.

Birdsong became only the sixth pitcher to start a game for the Giants when he toed the rubber at Oracle Park on Tuesday night.

Birdsong pitched five solid innings in his return to the rotation and Harrison looked comfortable in a new role, serving as a setup man on a night when the bullpen was a bit short.