Wade Davis comes up clutch again in Royals’ 3-2 win over the Astros

As the artificial fog cleared inside the visitors clubhouse at Minute Maid Park, left over from a postgame party replete with strobe lights and shouting and rapper Kevin Gates on the stereo, Wade Davis snuck into a quiet corner of the room.

He was just 25 minutes removed from another death-defying escape, a close call in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory over the Astros on Tuesday night. He wore a T-shirt and shorts and a look of relief.

“It was definitely off a little bit,” he said.

Davis did not have his best stuff on Tuesday night. He fought his mechanics, he said. His location was erratic. Yet he refused to give in.

In the final moments of the ninth inning, he had walked two men with one out, putting the winning run on first base. He bore down against the teeth of the Houston order, coaxing a fly ball from second baseman Jose Altuve and striking out right fielder George Springer on a 3-2 count.

The end came on a 92-mph cutter on the inside corner. The pitch froze Springer. Davis offered a sly smile. The Royals spilled onto the infield at Minute Maid Park, their first road victory in the books.

“He always finds a way,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He’ll bend a little bit, but I’ve never seen him break.”

Davis recorded his third save of the season, finishing off a night of shutdown relief work. This Davis experience was more fraught than most.

When the night began, David could sense he was suffering from something akin to “dead arm.” It usually hits this time of year, he said, a malady compounded by mechanics that needed recalibrating.

On Tuesday, Davis threw 33 pitches and recorded just 16 strikes. His stuff was good enough to get by against one of the American League’s most dangerous lineups.

“It’s something I usually go through early in the year,” Davis said. “It usually takes about a week to get through that dead-arm phase. Hopefully in a week, it’ll be a lot better.”

A night after losing the series opener, the Royals responded by tapping into their formula of opportunistic offense, gritty starting pitching and a stingy bullpen.

Lorenzo Cain blasted a three-run homer in the first inning off Astros starter Mike Fiers. Kris Medlen maneuvered through five innings after allowing two runs in the first.

For the second time this season, Yost unleashed his Big Four relief corps in one lethal dosage. The quartet of Luke Hochevar, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria and Wade Davis came through with four scoreless innings.

The Royals improved to 5-2, tying the series at a game apiece with two more games to play here in Houston.

“That’s what they do,” Yost said. “That’s how we’re built.”

Yost was answering a question about his bullpen. He could have been speaking of his entire clubhouse, as well.

The secondary drama came in the bottom of the eighth, when Soria was tasked with protecting a one-run lead against the heart of the Astros order.

He struck out shortstop Carlos Correa on a 71-mph curveball, then worked around a pair of two-out base runners by retiring Carlos Gomez on a weak grounder to second base.

Soria had allowed four earned runs in his first three outings. On Tuesday night, he resembled the front-line reliever the Royals signed for $25 million in the offseason.

As the game began, the night appeared primed for a slugfest. The Royals opened with a three-run onslaught in the top of the first.

Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas lined back-to-back singles before Cain pulverized a 3-2 fastball from the right hand of Fiers. The baseball landed in the front row of the Crawford Boxes in left field. Three batters into the game, the Royals owned a 3-0 lead.

The Astros struck back moments later, slicing into the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first.

Medlen faced seven batters and threw 30 pitches in the inning, which included a four-pitch walk and a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Eiland. Medlen was making his first start since spring training, with the Royals opting to skip him during the season’s first week.

“I figured Medlen might be a little rusty,” Yost said. “It’s been two weeks since he’s thrown in a competitive situation.”

As Medlen labored, Rasmus haunted the Royals once again, raking an RBI double into the gap in right field.

But Medlen survived the inning with the lead intact, striking out designated hitter Evan Gattis on a strikeout. He settled down in the second, striking out the side. He needed 97 pitches to get through the fifth, finishing with seven strikeouts and four walks.

He saved his biggest strikeout for last.

Facing Rasmus with two runners on, Medlen fell behind in the count 3-1. The moment required poise. Medlen delivered by striking out Rasmus on a 3-2 curveball, the pivotal battle in the Royals’ 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.

As Rasmus whiffed, Medlen hopped off the mound and pumped his fist as he strutted back to the dugout.

“I felt like I had nothing for him, to get him out with,” Medlen said. “He’s a really good hitter. That was a big situation for me, because I’m sitting there, battling my tail off, knowing that’s probably my last guy.

“I was excited to get it done for our squad.”

By late Tuesday, the excitement carried into the visitors clubhouse. The Royals had survived — individually and collectively. Medlen found a way to last five innings. Davis closed it out in the ninth.

“His stuff is so good that he can get through an inning throwing more balls than strikes with a one-run lead,” Yost said. “That’s who he is.”

Royals 3, Astros 2

a-struck out for Kratz in the 7th.

1-ran for Valbuena in the 9th.

LOB: Kansas City 5, Houston 9. 2B: Infante (2), Col.Rasmus (2), C.Gomez (3). HR: L.Cain (2), off Fiers. RBIs: L.Cain 3 (4), Col.Rasmus (7), White (10). SB: A.Gordon (1).

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 3 (A.Escobar, Infante 2); Houston 5 (Gattis, Valbuena, Col.Rasmus, C.Gomez, Springer). RISP: Kansas City 1 for 6; Houston 2 for 10. Runners moved up: Gattis. GIDP: K.Morales, Correa, Col.Rasmus. DP: Kansas City 2 (Moustakas, Infante, Hosmer), (Infante, Hosmer, A.Escobar, Hosmer, Moustakas); Houston 1 (White, Correa, White).

Holds: Hochevar (2), K.Herrera (1), Soria (1). WP: Gregerson.

Umpires: Home, Gary Cederstrom; First, Eric Cooper; Second, Jim Wolf; Third, Adrian Johnson. Time: 3:17. Att: 21,027.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 10:32 PM with the headline "Wade Davis comes up clutch again in Royals’ 3-2 win over the Astros."