TORONTO _ The Royals have remained on the fringes of the American League wild-card race despite a precipitous decline in the months of August and September.
That will not change after starter Jason Vargas shouldered the load on Thursday in a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. What was like to change, however, was the math needed to chase down the Minnesota Twins in the race for a final playoff spot.
Somehow, the Royals entered a series finale in Toronto at just 3 { games behind the Twins after recording a 9-10 record in September and losing eight of their last 13. Somehow, only the Rangers and Angels sat between the Royals and Minnesota. The playoff projections on Thursday morning at FanGraphs gave the Royals just a 5.1 percent chance to claim the final playoff spot. Somehow, after a 10-18 record in August and a middling September, that felt like reasonable odds.
A cast of mediocre teams playing to form in a crowded wild-card race has delayed the Royals' final breaths. On Thursday, Vargas took the mound against a last-place team in Toronto and secured a series victory, tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings and prolonging his mini resurgence in the month of September.
The Royals (75-77) won for a second straight day and built a measure of momentum heading into a three-game series in Chicago. Mike Minor earned his second save in the ninth, finishing off Kansas City's first shutout since June 2 in Cleveland. By the end, you could let the mind wander. Just a little bit.
Vargas lasted more than six innings for the first time since June 30. He yielded just two hits and issued just three walks, some of them strategic against the top-heavy Blue Jays lineup. One of those free passes came against Josh Donaldson, the other against Justin Smoak. For most of the night, however, Vargas remained in control.
By the time he exited for reliever Peter Moylan in the seventh, he had become the first Royals starting pitcher to log six starts of at least six scoreless innings since Zack Greinke during his Cy Young season in 2009.
The performance was necessary as the Royals offense scuffled against Toronto starter J.A. Happ. Melky Cabrera finished 3 for 4 and provided a two-out RBI single in the third.
The run would hold up.
