COLEMAN BANGS STRIKES IN DEBUT

The following is a story on Coleman's debut posted at MLB.com:

KANSAS CITY -- Royals manager Ned Yost wasted no time getting rookie Louis Coleman his first exposure to the big leagues. Just hours after his arrival, Coleman was brought in to pitch against Cleveland, relieving Sean O'Sullivan after a leadoff single in the Indians' seventh.

That was Yost's plan -- get through at least six innings with O'Sullivan, then go to Coleman, Aaron Crow and, if necessary, Joakim Soria. As it turned out, Soria was not needed because Coleman notched two shutout innings and Crow worked a scoreless ninth to get credit for the 3-2 victory.

Watch video and read more on MLB.com

"Both those kids came in banging strikes," Yost said. "That's key. If you're coming in late in key games, you've got to bang strikes."

Coleman, right in character with his Minor League strikeout credentials (16 in seven innings), struck out the first batter he faced, Adam Everett. He retired three batters in the seventh. In the eighth, he gave up two hits but got help when center fielder Melky Cabrera threw out a runner at the plate.

The ecstatic Coleman was oblivious to the weather conditions -- rain and temperatures around 50 degrees -- in his Major League debut.

"You always think of a sunny day, the wind blowing in, just perfect conditions," Coleman said. "But today it was raining, you had to make do. Still, it didn't feel like it was raining or that it was cold. It was a blast and everything I thought it would be. Like everybody says, it was a dream come true."

A walk-off victory made it even sweeter.

Yost was impressed by his latest rookie reliever.

"We got a real good view of him in Spring Training of how good he is, and he showed it again tonight in his Major League debut," Yost said. "No butterflies, just came in on the attack."