Baseball Notes: Royals send Yordano Ventura to the minors

The Kansas City Royals optioned right-hander Yordano Ventura to triple-A Omaha after a string of ineffective outings for the opening-day starter.

The 24-year-old Ventura, with a fastball that tops 100 mph, is 4-7 with a 5.19 earned-run average in 14 starts this year. He spent nearly a month on the disabled list with inflammation of his ulnar nerve.

Left-hander Jason Vargas came off the disabled list and got the start Tuesday night against Pittsburgh. Vargas had been sidelined by a left flexor strain.

After Ventura went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA as a rookie and threw seven scoreless innings to beat San Francisco in Game 6 of the World Series, the Royals signed him to a $23-million, five-year contract at the end of spring training.

Etc.

The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled right-handed reliever Dominic Leone from double-A Mobile and optioned outfielder Danny Dorn, a Cal State Fullerton product, to triple-A Reno. ... The St. Louis Cardinals called up outfielder/first baseman Stephen Piscotty, their top hitting prospect, from triple-A Memphis before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. The right-handed-hitting Piscotty was batting .272 with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs in his 87 games at Memphis this season. ... The Milwaukee Brewers reinstated Matt Garza from the 15-day disabled list to start the opener of the interleague series Tuesday night against the Cleveland Indians. The right-hander missed the minimum amount of time after being placed on the DL on July 6 with right shoulder tendinitis.