Royals' Volquez attributes newfound velocity to Gatorade

On the eve of the most important start of his career, Kansas City Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez offered an interesting theory as to why, at the age of 32 and with more than 1,200 career innings under his belt, his velocity has jumped this postseason.

"I don't know, from the Gatorade," he said when asked for his thoughts on a reason. "A lot of energy helps me a little bit more. I think pitching the playoffs is more exciting. And everything I pitch, everything I've got, that's what I've got. I was throwing 97, 98 the other day. I don't do that very often, but I think I've still got it a little bit."

In Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, Volquez threw a pair of sinkers against the Toronto Blue Jays upward of 97 mph despite averaging only 94.4 mph with the pitch during the regular season. Five days later, in Game 5 at Rogers Centre, the former All-Star unloaded a whopping 17 pitches of at least 97 mph, touching 98 three times.

Though Volquez, set to start Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday, has struggled with his command this postseason, the increased velocity has made him much harder to square up. In two ALCS starts, he limited the Blue Jays to a .139 batting average in 11 innings, albeit while issuing eight walks and striking out just seven. Including his Game 3 start against the Houston Astros in the division series, Volquez owns a 4.32 ERA with a 1.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio this postseason.

Still, even amid inconsistent results, catcher Salvador Perez remains confident in Volquez, who boasts a 51.3 percent ground-ball rate while allowing just one home run in 16 2/3 innings throughout the playoffs.

"I don't think Dominican guys get nervous, ever," Perez said. "He just likes to compete, have fun and do his job - keep the ball down, use the changeup, use his breaking ball, pitch inside."