Chris Young flirts with no-hitter, Royals top Twins

Chris Young sauntered through the clamor of the Royals clubhouse, pantomiming his delivery hours before taking the mound. He pronated his right elbow as he crossed the room. At his locker, he raised his left leg and mimicked his follow-through. While the clubhouse stirred to life around him, the voices of his teammates and the bass of the stereo system clattering off the walls, Young settled into his chair, slipped in a pair of ear buds and studied a scouting report.

Young introduces order into the chaos of a baseball game. At 36, pitching for his fifth big-league club, he combines an analytical bent with a simple but devastating arsenal. He fires a mid-80s fastball, a downward-diving slider and little else. He relies upon the support of his defenders, the deception of his fastball and the tenacity of his approach. He required all of these assets as he flirted with a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over Minnesota.

His fastball was “sneaky,” with a late burst that confused his opponents, catcher Salvador Perez said. His slider was “disappearing,” manager Ned Yost said. Young even flashed his shopworn changeup. He displayed humility after his outing, and referenced a Hall of Fame mentor he teamed with in San Diego.

“It’s fun to get into a game like that where the results are great,” Young said. “But they hit some balls hard, early, that could have been hits. That’s one thing I learned from Greg Maddux: Evaluate the way you threw the ball. I threw the ball well enough.”

Young (5-2, 2.25 ERA) carried a bid into the seventh inning. He exited with one hit on his ledger and watched his teammates in the bullpen guide the team to their third consecutive victory. Despite a vexing night from the offense, with nine runners left on base, the Royals (33-23) captured a series victory from the Twins and claimed first place in the American League Central. Kansas City can finish a sweep on Wednesday night.

During this stretch, the Royals benefited from a trio of fortifying outings from three of their veteran pitchers. Jeremy Guthrie helped avoid a sweep by the Rangers on Sunday. Jason Vargas twirled six scoreless frames on Tuesday. And Young kept his line spotless for most ofTuesday night.

“That’s why they’re here,” Yost said. “They’re veteran guys. They don’t panic in these situations. They just go out and pitch their game. They don’t feel like they have to do anything heroic to get us out of a bit of a slump.”

Young finished eight outs shy of the fifth no-hitter in franchise history. The club has not experienced a similar milestone since Bret Saberhagen no-hit the White Sox on Aug. 26, 1991. On this night, Young could not even enjoy his handiwork at first. He departed after Twins cleanup hitter Trevor Plouffe rocked a triple high off the wall in right field, very nearly a home run. Young departed with the tying run 90 feet away.

So Young rested in the dugout as the bullpen held firm. Franklin Morales induced a groundball that Alcides Escobar smothered at shortstop. When Kelvin Herrera replaced Morales for the last out, Escobar flashed leather as he ranged to his left to stab a hard-hit grounder off Kurt Suzki’s bat. Escobar bounced his throw, but first baseman Eric Hosmer scooped it to preserve the lead.

“Those guys are unbelievable,” Young said. “Every night, they make unbelievable plays. And they almost make them so easily that you take it for granted. The magnitude of that situation – for Esky to go in the hole like that and for Hoz to scoop it – these guys make you look really good. They’re awesome.”

Inside the dugout, Young pumped his fists. Dots of sweat streaked his cheeks. He had expended so much energy, even after only 83 pitches. He danced on a tightrope all evening. The Royals held a one-run lead until Salvador Perez detonated a solo shot in the ninth. Then Young watched Wade Davis and Greg Holland each pitch for the third-consecutive game, a nod to Yost’s zeal for downing their division foes.

The Royals grabbed a lead two batters into the game. The temperature was 92 degrees when Twins right-hander Trevor May flung the game’s first pitch. Escobar stroked a double into the left-field corner two pitches later. Mike Moustakas cracked an RBI single in the next at-bat. From there, the hitters left things up to Young.

“Over the course of the year, the offense will pick up the pitching,” Yost said. “And at times the pitching has to pick up the offense. And that was definitely the case tonight.”

Young had steadied the rotation in May. He allowed just one earned run in his first four starts. In his last two outings, he resembled a human. The Yankees dinged him for four runs in The Bronx. Cleveland drilled him for six last week.

Despite the relative battering, Young felt his results would soon improve. He displayed sharpness on Tuesday. His fastball touched 88 mph, rare speed for a pitcher with a surgically repaired shoulder, in an eight-pitch first inning. Three flyouts finished the second.

Young struck out designated hitter Kennys Vargas with three fastballs to start the third. After Eduardo Escobar became Minnesota’s first base runner, walking in the next at-bat, Young fed catcher Perez in time to throw out Escobar as he tried to steal second. The fastball kept Minnesota uncomfortable.

“That’s what he’s trying to do every time he pitches,” Perez said. “He’s one of the guys who likes to be aggressive. He pitches hard.”

Alex Gordon kept Young’s fledging assault on history alive in the fourth. He ranged to the left-field wall after a shot by outfielder Torii Hunter. Gordon jumped to prevent the ball from reaching the flowerbeds above the wall. A potential extra-base hit turned into yet another out.

The offense did him Young few favors. The Royals put 10 men on base in the first six innings. Only one scored. In the sixth, Kendrys Morales singled and Gordon followed him with a walk. They both advanced on a wild pitch by May. There were no outs. They would advance no further.

Up came Alex Rios, who hit a fly to center field. The ball was not particularly well-struck, but traveled deep enough for third-base coach Mike Jirschele to send Morales. Hick unfurled a strong throw that hopped through the infield. May bent to cut the ball off, but demurred. The baseball skipped into the glove of Kurt Suzuki, who tagged out Morales.

The Twins gave Young some stress in the sixth. Hicks recorded a two-out walk and stole second base. Second baseman Brian Dozier walked, too. Pitching coach Dave Eiland visited Young as Hunter waited in the on-deck circle.

Young appeared to be fading. He flipped a slider over the heart of the plate. Hunter smoked the pitch — right at Gordon. An inning later, Plouffe nearly cleared the right-field fence. Even after throwing only 83 pitches, Young could not argue with his manager’s decision.

“I would have to stay out there, without the hit,” Young said. “I felt good. But we’re trying to win games. I don’t try to get into hypotheticals too much. The game dictated it, and Franklin came in and got the job done. Ned made the right call.”

Royals 2, Twins 0

LOB: Kansas City 9, Minnesota 4. 2B: A.Escobar (10). 3B: Plouffe (2). HR: S.Perez (9), off Boyer. RBIs: Moustakas (19), S.Perez (28). SB: Hicks (6). CS: A.Gordon (3), Edu.Escobar (2).

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 5 (K.Morales 2, A.Escobar, S.Perez, Rios); Minnesota 3 (Tor.Hunter, K.Suzuki, Plouffe). RISP: Kansas City 1 for 9; Minnesota 0 for 4. DP: Minnesota 1 (Hicks, Hicks, K.Suzuki).

Holds: F.Morales (2), K.Herrera (8), W.Davis (6). Inherited runners-scored: F.Morales 1-0, K.Herrera 1-0, Pressly 2-0. WP: May 3.

Umpires: Home, Alan Porter; First, Mark Ripperger; Second, Jeff Kellogg; Third, Brian O’Nora. Time: 2:50. Att: 22,497.

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Chris Young flirts with no-hitter, Royals top Twins."