KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ On average, it takes major-league pitchers 12 to 14 months to return from Tommy John surgery, a grueling, mind-numbing rehab that tests a man's stamina and patience. The procedure to prepare the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow joint is a miracle of modern medicine, but it is not without risks. There are steps to take, phases to complete, and the most important asset of all is time.
In the end, it took left-hander Jason Vargas 13 months to climb back on a major-league mound after undergoing surgery last July. The return wasn't quick enough to tip the scales in a Royals season that will end before the playoffs for the first time since 2013. But after three promising starts this September, Vargas appeared primed for a return to the rotation in 2017.
That was one takeaway from the Royals' 5-2 victory over the Twins on Wednesday, a performance that included a three-run burst in the bottom of the eighth and Kansas City's 81st victory of the year.
In five scoreless innings, Vargas allowed just four hits, lowering his ERA to 2.25 in 12 innings across three starts this month. He has struck out 11, walked just three, and cemented his spot in the rotation in 2017.
As the Royals finished off a victory, the Baltimore Orioles came back against the Blue Jays in Toronto, registering their 86th victory and officially eliminating Kansas City from the playoff race.
One year after claiming their second World Series on a November night in New York, the Royals' world championship title defense officially came to an end at just after 9:12 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Still working on a pitch count, Vargas departed after throwing 87 pitches across five innings. Rookie reliever Kevin McCarthy entered in the sixth and recorded two outs before allowing a single and a game-tying two-run blast to Twins first baseman Kennys Vargas.
When Vargas' homer splashed down into the fountains in the bottom of the sixth, the Twins had knotted the game at 2-2 and snapped a streak of 106 straight innings without scoring more than one run. The stretch had lasted the equivalent of nearly 12 games and included nine losses in 12 days.
Moments after the homer, McCarthy issued two walks, putting two men on with two outs. But Royals manager Ned Yost called on right-hander Peter Moylan, who escaped the jam.
Left-handed reliever Matt Strahm took the baton in the eighth before the maligned Joakim Soria was forced into action in the eighth. Because Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis had thrown three of the last four days, and because the Royals had gone 11 innings on Tuesday night, Yost's bullpen was left thin and vulnerable at the back end. But Soria came through, allowing just one broken-bat single while working a scoreless eighth inning. It was his fourth scoreless appearance in his last five.
After the Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth, closer Wade Davis slammed the door in the ninth.
