Despite making a trip to the Dominican Republic to attend his father’s funeral, Kansas City Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez is still set to be the Game 5 starter against the New York Mets on Sunday.
Volquez’s father, who was 63-years-old, died of heart failure just hours before he made his Game 1 start on Tuesday. However, Volquez did not find out until he left the mound after allowing three runs over six innings of work. The 32-year-old then went home so he could be at his father’s funeral.
Volquez was one of the Royals most reliable starters in 2015, going 13-9 with a 3.55 earned run average over 34 appearances (33 starts). In 200 1/3 innings pitched, which was the most he has thrown in his career, Volquez struck out 155, with 72 walks, 16 home runs and 190 hits allowed.
In the postseason, Volquez has not seen the same success that he saw during the regular season. He went 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros after allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings. In the AL Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Volquez went 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA after allowing five runs and eight walks in 11 innings pitched.
It makes you wonder if Volquez knew about his father’s condition throughout the postseason, which could have been affecting his performance. It will be interesting to see how he pitches in Game 5 after experiencing an emotional few days. There are some things that are hard to put out of your mind when you have to perform on a big stage, and the death of a loved one certainly qualifies as one of those things.
Steven Laks is a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. Follow him on Twitter for more news, updates and analysis on Major League Baseball.
The post Edinson Volquez is still the Game 5 starter for the Kansas City Royals appeared first on OutsidePitchMLB.
