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Baseball notebook: Hillman has GM’s support

Manager Trey Hillman’s Kansas City Royals are 37-54. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
Manager Trey Hillman’s Kansas City Royals are 37-54. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

General manager Dayton Moore has given Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman a vote of confidence, saying he will return next season.

The Royals (37-54) are 17 games below .500 after losing six straight and eight of nine. Their game Monday against the Angels was rained out.

They took leads into the eighth inning in three games over the weekend against Tampa Bay, but the Rays rallied each time and swept the series.

Hillman said he appreciated the vote of confidence. He had never played or coached in the majors, spending five years as a manager in Japan before the Royals hired him after the 2007 season.

•Manuel also safe: Mets general manager Omar Minaya gave a vote of confidence to manager Jerry Manuel during the fourth inning of New York’s game against the Nationals. Minaya said that he recently spoke with Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, and Wilpon was supportive.

Minaya said he understood there would be talk about firings since the injury-ravaged Mets are four games under .500 (44-48) and nine games back of Philadelphia in the N.L. East.

The team with the second-highest payroll in the majors was expected to compete for a division title in the first year of their new ballpark.

Manuel became manager on June 18, 2008, replacing Willie Randolph. After last season, his contract was extended through 2010.

Clearing the bases

Padres infielder Edgar Gonzalez visited the clubhouse two days after he was hit in the head with a pitch and hospitalized with a concussion. … White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin was activated from the disabled list after missing nearly two months because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. … The Rangers placed closer Frank Francisco on the 15-day DL with a mild case of pneumonia. … Struggling A’s slugger Jason Giambi has been placed on the DL with a strained right quadriceps muscle. … Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang had a setback in his recovery from a strained right shoulder. … The Mets placed right-hander Fernando Nieve on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quadriceps. … The Reds placed catcher Ramon Hernandez on the DL to treat a knee injury.