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Royals pitcher Jason Vargas has appendectomy

ST. PETERBURG, Fla. (AP) — Kansas City Royals left-hander Jason Vargas was taken to the hospital Wednesday and had an appendectomy.

Royals manager Ned Yost, after Kansas City’s 5-4 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday night, said the surgery went great and that there were “no complications.”

Yost says Vargas “started really having severe discomfort” around 4 a.m. Wednesday.

There was no timetable given for how long Vargas will be out. Bruce Chen could replace Vargas in Sunday’s game against Detroit.

Royals All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to a sprained right wrist. He will have an MRI and see a hand specialist Thursday when the team returns to Kansas City.

Gordon did enter as a defensive replacement Wednesday in the ninth inning. He said the major problem is pain when swinging a bat.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Gordon said.

Yost said the injury could “very well” impact Gordon’s status for next week’s All-Star game.

Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas was also out of Wednesday’s lineup with the flu. He was feeling better late Wednesday, but is not expected to start Thursday.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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