His relief corps tired and depleted, his bullpen running on fumes, Royals manager Ned Yost sank into an office chair inside the visitors clubhouse office on Sunday morning and began to cycle through the names of his available arms.
There was no Joakim Soria, Mike Minor or Peter Moylan, he said. Each was out after extended use. Closer Kelvin Herrera and Matt Strahm were questionable, too, for the same reason. Two days earlier, rookie Eric Skoglund had lasted 1 1/3 innings against the San Diego Padres, exacerbating an issue caused by an ailing rotation. On Sunday, the bill was due.