and innings pitched in 14 games (13 starts) during the 2004 season. Bautista made his major league debut that year: the Orioles called him up as part of a roster reshuffle, and he made his first appearance, in relief, on May 25, 2004, against the New York Yankees. He recorded three outs in the first inning he pitched, but he got into difficulties and surrendered four runs on three hits before getting removed during his second inning. After a second relief appearance on May 27 (in which he allowed four runs in of an inning) amid a three-game sweep of the Orioles by the Yankees, Bautista was sent back to Bowie. A month later the Orioles traded him to the Kansas City Royals for veteran relief pitcher Jason Grimsley. Kansas City Royals 2004 The Royals assigned Bautista to the Double-A Wichita Wranglers of the Texas League, where he went 4–3 with an ERA of 2.53, 73 strikeouts, 32 walks, and innings pitched in 12 starts. In September, he was called up and added to the Royals' starting rotation when the team decided to go to a six-man staff to limit their pitchers' innings. He made his first major league start on September 6, allowing four runs over six innings and taking the loss in a 7–3 defeat to the Detroit Tigers. In five starts for the Royals, Bautista had an 0–4 record, a 6.51 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and 11 walks in innings pitched. 2005 Bautista was ranked the second-best prospect in the Royals' organization before the 2005 season by Baseball America. After a productive spring training in 2005, Bautista was named to the Royals' starting rotation again; he started seven games, going 2–2 with an ERA of 5.80, 23 strikeouts, and 17 walks in innings pitched before tendinitis in his shoulder put him on the disabled list for the remainder of the season. On April 8, 2005, Bautista won his first MLB game, holding the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to one run in eight innings pitched. 2006 At the start of the 2006 season, Bautista was again in the Royals' starting rotation, but after a poor start (interrupted by a disabled list stint from April 14 to May 8) in which he went 0–2 with an ERA of 5.66, 22 strikeouts, and 17 walks in 35 innings pitched, the Royals sent him to the Triple-A Omaha Royals of the