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Royals' Young strikes out 7 with heavy heart

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Royals right-hander Chris Young had not thrown a postseason pitch since the 2006 NLDS, when he was pitching for the San Diego Padres, but you wouldn't know it by his performance Thursday night.

Coming out of the bullpen in the third inning to relieve Yordano Ventura after a 48-minute rain delay, Young struck out seven Houston Astros in four innings of work, with a George Springer solo home run the only blemish for his day.

It was an unbelievable effort from the 36-year-old, just three days after his father's funeral. Young pitched just one day after learning of his father's death on Sept. 26, and responded with five shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians.

"Every time that I lost focus or started thinking about him or the situation, I felt like there was a voice in my head that said 'Concentrate. Worry about you. Focus on the game,'" Young told Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star last Thursday.

Young left the game with the Royals down 4-2 at the end of the sixth.


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