Kansas City starter Edinson Volquez on Tuesday pitched six innings of Game 1 of the World Series only hours after the death of his father.
However, it was unclear whether Volquez found out the news before taking the mound against the New York Mets.
Volquez left the stadium after being taken out of the game and did not speak to reporters.
Media reports surfaced just before the game that Daniel Volquez, 63, had died of heart complications back home in the Dominican Republic.
Kansas City manager Ned Yost said the information had been kept from Volquez, at the request of his family, until after he had finished pitching.
However, teammate Chris Young said he had been told that Volquez had found out before the game.
Young, who is slated to start Game 4, was told by Yost that he would have been the starting pitcher had Volquez been unable to play.
“We found out about it before the game and the wishes of the family was ‘let Eddie pitch,’ so I ... didn’t want him to hear about it,” Yost told reporters after the game. “I was keeping my eye on him and he was fine. He didn’t know, and I guess after the game was when he found out.”
However, Young, speaking later on the MLB Network after pitching the final three innings to register the Game 1 win, had a different story.
“I heard originally he [Volquez] did not know, and then I’ve heard in the clubhouse post game he did know and still took the ball and went out there,” Young said.
“Ned gave me a little warning before the game that they might need me to start if Edinson felt like he couldn’t go tonight. He came out, and was just tremendous, and gave us a chance to win,” Young said. “All of us were inspired by that. Talk about the courage and the guts to go out and do that, and the focus, it’s just tremendous.”
Young can empathize with Edinson after losing his own father recently.
“Words can’t describe my pain for Edinson tonight,” he added.
“I went through something similar about a month ago when my dad passed away. I felt like I needed to take the ball, felt like it was what my dad wanted me to do, go out and pitch and also I felt an obligation to my teammates to not let them down. I think Eddie [also felt that way] tonight,” Young said.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS