KANSAS CITY -- On Monday, right-hander Edinson Volquez sat in the Royals' clubhouse, listening to music coming out of his locker. His eyes were down, focused on a baseball-reference spreadsheet on his phone, as he prepared for his start against the Yankees on Tuesday.
In his last start against the Marlins, Volquez shrugged off a spell of rough outings. He pitched five strong innings, giving up two runs (zero earned). The outing snapped a stretch of five straight in which Volquez had allowed four or more runs, and was the first time he hadn't yielding an earned run in a start since June.