ST. LOUIS -- Right-hander Yordano Ventura threw another side session in St. Louis prior to game one of the Royals-Cardinals series, and all signs point to Ventura making his scheduled start Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
Ventura, who missed his last start after some elbow discomfort, last pitched on May 26 against Houston.
On Monday, Ventura threw about 40 pitches in his side session and pitching coach Dave Eiland told me that Ventura didn't hold back.
"Very good. He looks strong, very healthy," Eiland said. "He threw extremely well. Command was a little off but that's because he didn't really throw beyond 60 percent his last (session).
"But he looked good. You could tell he wasn't trying to protect anything and there was no discomfort, so he's good to go."
Will Ventura will be on a short leash in his next start?
"It's something we're going to talk about," Eiland said. "It won't be about pitch count, but more about how hard he has to work and how stressful are the innings."
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
