ANAHEIM, Calif. _ Seven years ago Matt Strahm drove from his home in West Fargo, N.D., to a baseball showcase event at the University of Kansas. He was a skinny high school senior then, 6 foot 1 and 153 pounds, a fastball that topped out in the high 70s. His only scholarship offers came from NAIA schools and junior colleges.
On Thursday here in Southern California, Strahm boarded a charter bus in the afternoon and rode from the Kansas City Royals' team hotel to Angel Stadium. He is 6 foot 3 and 185 pounds now, his fastball exploding from his left hand at 95 mph, his slider coaxing uncomfortable swings from the best hitters in the world.
In his 42nd career appearance, on a cool evening in Orange County, Strahm made his first major-league start, allowing one unearned run across five innings in a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The performance propelled the Royals to a fifth straight win on this West Coast road trip, pushing them to 31-34 overall, three games within .500 for the first time since April 22. The five-inning outing represented the latest chapter in the remarkable journey of Strahm.
The state of North Dakota, by virtue of population and climate, is not supposed to produce major-league starting pitchers. But Strahm is the southpaw that defies convention. In the year after that fateful workout at KU, he landed at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan. His body would mature and his stuff would improve, and two years later, the Royals spent a 21st-round pick on him. Then came Tommy John surgery. Then came a quick rise through the minor leagues. Then came an electric debut out of the bullpen in 2016.
And yet, Strahm believed he possessed the ability to start. So did the Royals, but the opportunity would not come until injuries to Danny Duffy and Nathan Karns sent the club searching for options in the early weeks of June. On Thursday, Strahm took the place of rookie Eric Skoglund, who had struggled in his previous two starts. He would finish with three strikeouts while allowing just three hits and walking one, offering five innings despite a pitch count of close to 70 pitches.
The only run would come in the bottom of the first, when left fielder Alex Gordon misplayed a single to left field and Albert Pujols delivered an RBI single to right, scoring Kole Calhoun from second base. Danny Espinosa would rope a solo homer with two outs in the fifth _ only to have the blast ruled foul upon an umpire's review. The Royals' offense would ensure the error _ or even another run _ would not matter.
Lorenzo Cain homered for the sixth time in 12 games, bashing a solo shot to center off Angels starter Ricky Nolasco in the third. Alex Gordon added his third homer in eight games after an interminable drought, crushing a 411-foot shot to dead center field. The offense scored at least seven runs for a fifth straight game, matching the franchise's longest streak since 1979. The same team that scored 61 runs in 23 games in April has now piled up 45 runs in six games on this West Coast road trip.
Just 10 days ago, the Royals were 24-32 following a loss to the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. With the trade deadline just two months away, a championship core was in danger of splintering apart, sold off for younger assets as a club replenished its farm system and charted a course for the future. But now, after seven wins in nine games, the Royals are just four games out of first place and two games behind second-place Cleveland.
The run has clouded the future. Clarity will come later. For now, the Royals are rolling on the West Coast.
