KANSAS CITY — The Royals’ hopes of advancing past the ALDS took a big blow on Thursday night with their 5-2 loss at the hands of the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. One game, obviously, does not decide a best-of-five series, but Kansas City essentially relinquished its home-field advantage with the loss and still stand to face Astros ace Dallas Keuchel in Game 3 of the series. It’s a tough road ahead.
But things could have looked a lot worse were it not for the subtle heroics of right-hander Chris Young on Thursday. The 6’10” swingman entered the game in relief of starter Yordano Ventura after a 49-minute rain delay following the second inning. Ventura, 24, is one of the hardest throwers in the game. Young, 36, is not: His fastballs averaged less than 87 mph this season.
But despite — or perhaps because of — that distinction, the Princeton graduate and former All-Ivy basketball standout threw four strong innings against the big-swinging Astros, striking out seven and allowing only one run in an outing that allowed manager Ned Yost to preserve, to some extent, his vaunted bullpen.
“Chris has been throwing the ball so well for us lately, it gave us confidence to go out in the third inning to hold the score,” Yost said after the game. “He got us into the sixth inning int he game, and that’s what you’re looking for.”
“It’s no secret what I do,” Young said. “I try to execute with my fastball and get ahead, and try to throw a good slider…. Pitching’s pitching. You take the ball and you go compete, that’s it.”
(PHOTO: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Pitching is undoubtedly pitching, but Young’s pitching now comes at a tough time in his personal life. Young’s father died on Sept. 26. The next day, he threw five perfect innings, then left the team to join his family in Texas, releasing the following statement to explain his absence from postgame media availability:
Last night my dad, Charles Young, passed away at the age of 70. Today, I had the opportunity to honor him, playing a game we both love alongside my baseball family. I felt him next to me with every pitch. I am grateful for the support of my teammates, coaches and the entire Royals’ organization during this difficult time. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
On Thursday, Young explained that he tries to honor his father in daily life more than in his pitching, and that he remains committed to the club that signed him in free agency in March and gave him another opportunity to pitch.
“I have a job to do,” he said. “Life goes on. Certainly it’s been a tough week and a half, but these guys have been there for me, and I’m trying to do the same for them.”
Young saw no Major League playing time at all while battling injuries in the Nationals’ system in 2013. He endured surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in his shoulder and signed a minor league deal to return to the Nationals in 2014, but the club released him late in spring training. But Young soon signed with the Mariners, pitched his way into Seattle’s rotation, and went on to win the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award by going 12-9 with a 3.65 ERA.
But even after that success, Young lingered on the open market until early March, when the Royals signed him to an incentive-laden deal. He started the season pitching in long relief for Kansas City, moved into their starting rotation in May, then returned to the bullpen for most of August and September.
After a couple of strong starts in the season’s final days, he’s back in the Royals’ bullpen now, providing the club the type of sturdy long reliever it needed on Thursday.
“I try to do my best no matter what the circumstances are, but I just wish we could have come out on top, wish I could have kept the game closer,” Young said. “But we’ll bounce back. Nobody said this was going to be easy. It’s a resilient team. This is a resilient bunch of guys here, and we’ll show up tomorrow good to go.”
