KANSAS CITY, MO.: A warning to Scott Lewis, who matriculated at Ohio State: Flaunt your Buckeye fandom at your peril in the Indians' clubhouse.

''What did you guys ask him about?'' pitching coach Carl Willis said to a small group of reporters who had just finished talking to Lewis. ''Was it about pitching or about Ohio State?''

''There are bigger Ohio State die-hards than me,'' Lewis said Sunday, his first day in the majors. ''But I'm a pretty big fan. We squeaked by yesterday, but the big one is coming up next weekend.''

Lewis was referring to the Buckeyes' relatively narrow win over Ohio University on Saturday and the upcoming game with Southern Cal this Saturday.

It didn't take long for Tribe officials to make up their minds about a course of action after Anthony Reyes left Friday night's game with a sore elbow. With Reyes' next appearance scheduled for Wednesday, Lewis was summoned from Akron.

''We're going to skip Reyes' next turn,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''Hopefully, it will only be one start just to give his elbow time to calm down.''

Making the jump to the big leagues from Double-A is unusual but far from rare. Lewis, 24, posted a 6-2 record and 2.33 ERA average in 13 starts for the Aeros. What stood out statistically were his nine walks in 731/3 innings, while striking out 13.

He demonstrated the same control when he was promoted to Buffalo on Aug. 14. While compiling a 2-2 record and 2.63 ERA, Lewis walked only four in 24 innings.

Lewis was a highly regarded pitcher at Ohio State when he underwent Tommy John surgery after his sophomore season. Even so, the Tribe picked him in the third round of the 2004 draft, following a junior season in which he made only a handful of starts.

''I probably came back a little too early,'' Lewis said. ''The draft was coming up, and I wanted to get in some games. That's probably why I had a little setback with some tendinitis.''

Lewis strained a lat muscle in spring training this year, an injury that delayed his first start with Akron until June.

He received the call to join the Tribe Friday night, after he had gone to sleep.

''I missed the first call,'' he said. ''But I happened to wake up and see that it was a 216 number, from Cleveland, so I figured I better see what it was.

''They told me during the season I would not be going up to Triple-A, but I went there. Then they told me I wouldn't be called up to the big leagues. I don't know how long I'll be here, but I'm going to enjoy it.''

Lewis will have his own rooting section at Camden Yards, when he faces the Orioles.

''My family and my girlfriend are coming to Baltimore,'' he said. ''Everybody makes it to the debut.''

On his way

Travis Hafner will join the team in Baltimore Monday and probably come off the disabled list shortly thereafter.

''We're going to talk to him tomorrow and possibly activate him on Tuesday,'' manager Eric Wedge said Sunday.

In his last two rehabilitation starts for Akron over the weekend, he homered twice, once with the bases loaded.

Hafner has been sidelined for almost 31/2 months with weakness in his right rotator cuff.

Dugout dangers

Jeremy Sowers was struck on top of the left hand by a foul off the bat of Joey Gathright as he watched from the dugout.

He got hit hard enough that the training staff put ice on the area, though there are not expected to be any lasting effects.

''When Gathright came up after that, we all got down below that fence (that fronts the dugout),'' Wedge said.

Still undecided

With Lewis scheduled to start Wednesday, he cannot come back on Saturday to pitch one game of the day-night makeup doubleheader against the Royals.

''We might call somebody up, but it won't be someone who hasn't played [lately],'' Wedge said.

Unless Wedge changes his mind, that eliminates starters from Buffalo, whose season ended on Labor Day.

1 degree of separation

Lewis grew up in Washington Court House, the same Central Ohio town where former Tribe pitcher Jeff Shaw lives.

Lewis met him when Shaw was getting in shape for spring training.

''I also threw with him in the winter at a [local] gymnasium,'' Lewis said.

Shaw was drafted by the Indians and pitched for Cleveland from 1990 to 1992. He went on to have a distinguished career as a closer for the Reds and Dodgers.