ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Jason Vargas is 34. His left elbow contains a surgical graft where his ulnar collateral ligament once was. His fastball tops out at 86 mph, the slowest average velocity for a starting pitcher in the American League.
His ERA is also 1.01, the best in baseball after the Royals' 6-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon, and the previous four statements put a smile on the face of Dave Eiland, the pitching coach who has witnessed, in his words, the most perfect rehab performance he has ever seen.
A year ago, Vargas was a 33-year-old left-hander returning from Tommy John surgery, the elbow reconstruction procedure that can leave pitchers sidelined for 12 to 14 months. With nothing to do but rehab, Vargas spent the season with the Royals, traveling on road trips, sweating through afternoon workouts, and working through private side sessions with Eiland.
On some days, you could find Vargas in the bowels of a baseball stadium, throwing a medicine ball against a wall. On others, you could find him in a bullpen with Eiland, breaking down his delivery to the most intricate detail. They had the luxury of time and resources, and even when Vargas could not throw a baseball, they do other things, like a simple 'sock drill', setting the foundation for the future.
"We really honed in on just cleaning up his delivery and repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating," Eiland says. "He's always had good command. But now his delivery is so clean and on time, it's almost like he's perfected it."
On Thursday at Tropicana Field, that perfection looked this: Vargas tossed seven scoreless innings as Kansas City won for a third time in four days. For the sixth time in seven starts, the veteran southpaw worked at least six innings and allowed one run or less.
"Pretty impressive," Royals outfielder Alex Gordon said.
One day after Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer caused a kerfuffle by plunking Salvador Perez, the Royals (13-21) exacted their revenge on the field, securing their first series win since April 16. To do so, they rode the surgically repaired arm of Vargas, who is crafting an early case for AL Comeback Player of the Year honors, his first All-Star appearance, and ... maybe even a Cy Young?
"It's a nice thing to see when you're able to go out there have good starts and put your team in position to have success at the end of the game," Vargas said.
It is indeed early to be discussing end-of-the-year honors. Yet the numbers are staggering. In seven starts, Vargas has posted a 5-1 record and allowed just five earned runs in 44 2/3 innings. With a surgeon's precision, he has dissected opposing teams in his own understated way. On Thursday, Gordon watched the clinic from an unusual post in center field. He was treated to a lesson in pitching mastery.
He witnessed the 86 mph fastball, commanded to both sides of the plate. He saw the curveball, keeping hitters from guessing. And he saw the devastating changeup, the great equalizer, disappearing into the ether every fifth day.
"To play center and watch him go both sides of the plate, off-speed, fastballs in, just kind of work a hitter," Gordon said. "It's pretty fun to watch."
As Vargas dominated, the Royals' offense subsisted on a solo homer from Whit Merrifield _ a 428-foot blast in the fourth that represented his third of the year _ and a late charge against the Rays bullpen in the eighth.
Perez ripped a two-run double off reliever Diego Moreno, pumping his fist toward the Royals' dugout. Jorge Bonifacio laced another RBI double to left. Merrifield punctuated the five-run inning by lining an RBI single into center field and then circling the bases when center fielder Kevin Kiermaier let the baseball slip under his glove and roll all the way to the wall.
"I knew as long as I didn't trip, I was going to score," Merrifield said.
It was the second time in the four-game series that Kiermaier, a Gold Glove winner, had allowed the Royals to record a Little League-style home run. The first came on Monday, when an eerily similar misplay allowed Lorenzo Cain to sprint around the bases.
It was a bizarre sight. Yet so was the image of the Royals scoring 21 runs in four games here at Tropicana Field. After an agonizing April and 34 games, they finally surpassed 100 runs for the season on Thursday afternoon, becoming the final team in baseball to do so. In four games, they increased their scoring average from 2.73 to 3.03 per game.
"That's a really good [pitching] staff over there," Merrifield said. "That's a really good staff. To come in and get three wins and swing the bats like we did, minus yesterday, it was an encouraging series."
On early Thursday evening, the Royals boarded a flight and headed back to Kansas City, where they will open a three-game series against Baltimore on Friday night. The brief four-game road trip was fruitful _ three victories, some offensive spark, and another sterling performance from Vargas.
As he stood inside the visitors clubhouse, Vargas reflected on his start in 2017. A veteran of 12 major-league seasons, he prefers plain, unemotional statements. He worries about "situations" and "commanding counts" and putting himself in the right position to succeed. When he has a strong outing, it offers a "positive thought." Put enough of those thoughts together, and you can feel the confidence on the mound, he says. For now, this has been Vargas' season, positive thought after positive thought.
He is 34. His elbow was cut open and reconstructed less than two years ago. And now, the best season of his life continues.
"The most success you have," he says, "the more positive thoughts."
