Cleveland beats Kansas City 6-4

There was no discussion. Ned Yost said a few words before he even reached the mound. Surrounded by his Royals teammates, unable to slow his late-season skid, Jason Vargas merely nodded. He walked off the mound in the fifth inning of a 6-4 loss to Cleveland. The defeat may not dent Kansas City’s playoff hopes, but it did raise significant questions about the team’s playoff rotation.

In the scorebook, responsibility for the loss belonged to rookie Brandon Finnegan. He replaced Vargas, gave up an RBI double to Jose Ramirez, made a foolhardy attempt at an infield chopper by Michael Brantley and let Ramirez score the go-ahead run on a ground ball. It was the first run allowed in Finnegan’s six career appearances.

Yet Vargas tripped alarms with his performance. For the second outing in a row, he could not record an out after the fourth inning. He allowed four runs, as he has, or worse, for four consecutive starts. He looked wobbly, with inexact location and deflating results. He did not resemble the maestro from earlier in the year, even as Yost refused to express concern about him.

“He’ll get it together,” Yost said. “He’s a pro.”

For the first five months of the season, Vargas (11-10, 3.71 ERA) lagged only James Shields in the Royals’ rotational hierarchy. He represented a masterstroke for general manager Dayton Moore, who inked Vargas to a four-year, $32 million deal last winter. Now he may rank fifth among their five starters.

The prospect of holding Vargas out of October action is one the club must contemplate. Another loss by Seattle nudged them a step closer to the playoffs. Their magic number is two. If the Mariners fall on Thursday afternoon in Toronto, the Royals (86-72) can splash suds inside the visitors’ clubhouse with a victory at U.S. Cellular Field.

After 28 years waiting for this, the Royals show little interest in discussing hypotheticals. Yost scoffed at the mere suggestion of his playoff rotation.

“Next question,” Yost said. “I haven’t made the playoffs yet. Until I make the playoffs, I won’t worry about it.”

He added, “There’s still too many variables. Man, this thing could come down to where we play a one-game playoff for the division. The loser of that game plays the wild card game. There’s too much going on.”

A playoff game with Detroit now looks unlikely. The Tigers downed the White Sox to boost their lead to two games with four to play. Kansas City looks bound for a clash with Oakland in the wild card game on Sept. 30.

Still, the schedule is not the only puzzling component. Shields will lead the club into the postseason, and is lined up to pitch against Oakland. From there, the rotation could become a blank slate.

Danny Duffy appeared assured of a start before missing two weeks with rotator cuff inflammation; he showed rust in his return on Monday. Yordano Ventura looked ready for an assignment in the bullpen. Yet he has flourished in September, tallying seven innings in each of his last three starts and logging a 1.62 ERA for the month.

So the debate — should the Royals reach the American League Division Series, and play a fourth game — could come down to Vargas vs. Jeremy Guthrie. A mismatch has become an even contest. Guthrie has posted a 3.13 ERA in September. Vargas has shown troubling signs of regression.

In his three starts heading into Wednesday, Vargas surrendered 14 runs in 14 innings. He lasted only 31/3 innings against Detroit last week. It was his briefest outing of the season.

During this stretch, pitching coach Dave Eiland pinpointed mechanical glitches that caused Vargas to lose his command. With his upper 80s fastball, he requires pinpoint control to thrive. “If you’re a Duffy or a Ventura, you’re going to get away with that stuff,” Eiland said. “It’s different for him.”

The Indians tagged Vargas in their first opportunity. Michael Brantley hit a two-out single and Carlos Santana worked a walk. Vargas tried to freeze Yan Gomes with a changeup. The pitch was away, but up. Gomes walloped it over the fence in center field.

“You really can’t do anything about that, except, obviously, throw it lower,” Vargas said. “I’ve had success with that pitch. I’m not going to go away from it.”

When former Royal Mike Aviles led off the second with a double, Vargas appeared ready to collapse. He survived that frame, but after issuing a pair of two-out walks in the third, reliever Louis Coleman started to warm up.

Coleman could sit down. Vargas found a way to make pitches, and benefited from some good fortune. With one out in the fourth, backup catcher Roberto Perez whacked a drive off the left-field wall. Alex Gordon scooped and fired to second base. Perez had no chance.

As Vargas steadied himself, momentarily, his teammates bounced Trevor Bauer in the fifth inning. In the previous frame, Butler had placed an RBI single into left field. Eric Hosmer raked another run-scoring single with one out in the fifth. With runners at the corners, Butler crushed a curveball for a two-run double. The total gave him three RBIs in a game for just the fourth time this season.

The lead was brief. Vargas threw one pitch in the fifth. The 85-mph fastball collided with Michael Bourn. Yost had seen enough. And Vargas had perhaps started his last game in 2014.

“Yeah, I want to do better,” Vargas said. “I wish that I did better. Is it going to play a part in what I do in my preparation in between my next start? No. I’m going to do the same thing. I’m going to go about my business the same way.

“And lace it up the next time, if I get the opportunity, if we keep winning games here.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2014 at 9:56 PM with the headline "Cleveland beats Kansas City 6-4."