As for his luggage, it could be floating in the Adriatic Sea, for all he knows.

Lewis was told by the Indians late Friday night that he'll be making Wednesday's start in place of right-hander Anthony Reyes. As expected, the Tribe has decided to skip Reyes for one start because of the right elbow soreness he experienced in three innings of work against the Royals on Friday.

The Indians had Lewis fly from Akron, where he was pitching in the postseason with the Double-A Aeros, to Kansas City on Saturday, so that he could get acclimated to the big leagues before his start against the Orioles.

Unfortunately, his bags had yet to join him as of Sunday morning.

"This is nice, because I get to get settled in and actually get to know some of the guys before I go out and pitch," Lewis said. "Although, having no baseball gear doesn't help that much."

The Indians didn't expect Lewis, who was a third-round Draft pick out of Ohio State in 2004, to help them this year. In fact, they didn't expect him to advance past Akron.

"The two things they told me weren't going to happen this year have happened," he said. "They said I wasn't going to go to Triple-A, and they told me I probably didn't have enough innings to get up here, and here I am. So I'm going to make the most of it while I'm here."

Lewis, who turns 25 later this month, is here after going 6-2 with a 2.33 ERA in 13 starts for the Aeros and 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA in four starts at Buffalo. He was moved back to Akron at season's end so that he could stay active in the playoffs. He took a no-decision in Akron's 6-5 victory over Bowie on Wednesday, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings.

On the whole, Lewis is happy with his season, even though he was held up the first two months of the year by a shoulder strain that kept him in extended spring camp.

"My changeup's been a lot better," he said. "It's pretty much my second pitch right now. The slider has been good this year. It's kind of taken the place of my curveball. And I've had good fastball command, and I just work everything off that."

As for the plan with Reyes, the Indians want to give him a break for a full turn through the rotation, so he will not be an option to start in either game of Saturday's day-night doubleheader against the Royals.

The Indians, then, might have to promote somebody else from Akron to make a start that day. Ryan Edell, Frank Herrmann and J.D. Martin have all made starts in the postseason for the Aeros. It's also possible, though unlikely, that the Indians would go with a trail of relievers to start the game.

"We're still working through [the Saturday decision]," Indians manager Wedge said. "We'll know more about that [Monday]."