Royals' Ventura pays tribute to Fernandez, Taveras

Almost two years have passed since Kansas City Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura lost his buddy Oscar Taveras in a car accident, so the young Dominican decided to honor his late friend Friday as he paid tribute to another burgeoning star whose career was tragically cut short.

Making his first start since Jose Fernandez's shocking death, Ventura saluted the late right-hander with a message on his cap, and did the same for Taveras, the former St. Louis Cardinals prospect he once referred to as his "brother."

In 2014, Ventura, then a rookie, famously dedicated his start in Game 6 of the World Series to Taveras, who'd died two days earlier when he ran his Chevrolet Camaro off the road in the Dominican Republic and hit a tree.

On that emotional night at Kauffman Stadium, the grieving youngster hurled seven shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants en route to a 10-0 win.

"If he was still here, I would for sure be talking to him, and Oscar would be very happy for me and very proud," Ventura told reporters following his start. "Oscar was a very humble guy and very likable, and I'm going to miss him a lot."