Cueto gives KC bullpen a much-needed break

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Tuesday, the Royals trotted six reliever into the 14-inning Game 1. On Wednesday, they all got a break.

A dark blue tarp covered the double-barreled pitchers’ mounds in the left-field bullpen through seven innings Wednesday evening, and a group of Royals relief pitchers remained stationed on a nearby bench.

Unneeded.

A day after the Royals trotted six relievers into the 14-inning Game 1 of the World Series, starter Johnny Cueto shrunk the relief employment to zero in Game 2.

Cueto fired a complete game in the Royals’ 7-1 win Wednesday, increasing the series lead to 2-0.

And that effectively saved a bullpen in need of a break. The six Royals relievers combined to throw 150 pitches in the series opener, with eventual winner Chris Young unleashing 53 of those — some of them atypically breaking a threshold of 90 mph.

Before Game 2, Royals manager Ned Yost said Young will still be available to make the start in Game 4 in New York on Saturday, which would equate to three days’ rest after his three-inning relief appearance.

On Tuesday, “our plan for Chris Young was that if we needed him, we would use him 45-50 pitches and he would still be available in Game 4,” Yost said. “It would be just like a short start and then coming back a day early. He hadn’t pitched in six days.”

With Young still slated to start Saturday, Yost said the Royals would turn to Kris Medlen as the potential long reliever, if necessary, in Games 3 and 4 in New York.

Well, actually, he said Medlen would also be the long man in Game 2. He just wasn’t needed Wednesday. Neither were his teammates in the bullpen.

The tarp was finally removed in the eighth inning, when Kelvin Herrera loosened his arm. An inning later, Wade Davis threw a handful of warmup pitches.

They never left the bullpen.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Cueto gives KC bullpen a much-needed break."