NEW YORK
Late Saturday night, Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez pondered the breathtaking moment ahead and tried to reconcile it with the wrenching days that had preceded it.
At one far-flung end of his emotional pendulum was the exhilarating prospect of starting on Sunday in Game 5 of the World Series, a game that could clinch a championship with the Royals holding a 3-1 series lead.
At the other end was the excruciating void left by the death of his father, Daniel, back home in the Dominican Republic.
As he rummaged for a way to tether them together, a subdued Volquez mustered more hopefulness than certainty.