Moylan makes Royals debut against his old Braves team

“I feel real good,” said Moylan, called up from Triple-A by the Royals on Thursday, the day his pal and fellow former Braves pitcher Kris Medlen went on the disabled list for shoulder inflammation. “I’m really throwing the ball well, hopefully I can be able to stay around and we can make a run. This is a good team.”

Moylan said that Friday, and two days later entered his first Royals game to the familiar strains of AC/DC’s “TNT,” his old intro song during his two stints with the Braves. He struck out Tyler Flowers to start the fourth inning, got Jeff Francoeur on a groundout, and struck out Ender Inciarte to end the inning.

After being charged with a tough error on a Chase d’Arnaud bunt to start the fifth inning, Moylan was replaced. He had done his job, and done it well, mixing 91-mph sinkers with sliders and a few change-ups.

He signed an unusual two-year minor league deal with the Braves during 2015 spring training, a contract that was designed to let him aim for a 2016 return to the Braves without rushing his rehab. But that plan was scrapped when Moylan progressed ahead of schedule.

The Braves needed bullpen and promoted him to Triple-A in June and to the majors in August, and when Moylan got to the majors it effectively nullified the minor league contract, meaning the second year of the deal was no longer applicable.

He posted a 3.48 ERA in 22 appearances while allowing 12 hits, one homer and no walks in 10-1/3 innings, with eight strikeouts. Left-handers were 3-4 with a homer against him, but Moylan had a solid .225 opponents’ average vs. righties, with one extra-base hit and eight strikeouts.

The Braves didn’t want to pay the salary he would’ve commanded if they’d tendered him as an arb-eligible player, and he ended up with the Royals and his good friend Medlen. The two of them had rehabbed together in Atlanta following the second TJ surgery for each.

A reporter mentioned that it would’ve been nice to be part of the Royals during their World Series run in 2015.

“Yeah, but I was happy where I was last year, too,” Moylan said. “I owe a lot to the Braves.”

All but 14 of his 331 major league appearances before Sunday came in eight seasons with the Braves, who had him as a 27-year-old rookie after signing him out of the World Baseball Classic when he pitched for Australia after being out of professional baseball for years.

Moylan turned the page when the Braves did. Now, he’s got another chance to continue his career. Medlen said a couple of people joked that he’d gone to great lengths — a DL stint — to get his friend Moylan to the big leagues.

“I was throwing the ball great in Triple-A (this season),” Moylan said. “I didn’t know that this opportunity was going to come here. Finally got the call two days ago and I was as happy as a pig in (bleep).”

Medlen isn’t on the active roster with him for now, but as Moylan noted, “At least we’re still in the same clubhouse.”