WHO'S UP -- Edinson Volquez returned Saturday from his father's funeral in the Dominican Republic and will try to pitch the Kansas City Royals to their first title in 30 years when he opposes Matt Harvey in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night at Citi Field.
It will be an emotional night for Volquez, whose father, Daniel, died of heart disease last week at age 63. Volquez said he plans to write his father's name inside his cap or his glove in tribute before he takes the mound in Game 5.
Although Volquez's postseason numbers this year are pedestrian (1-2 with a 4.37 ERA), he has yielded an opponents' batting average of .203 and consistently kept the Royals in games. He's shown an ultra-competitive side and elevated his velocity to the 96-98 mph range at times. Royals manager Ned Yost and the Kansas City players feel comfortable with Volquez on the mound, and he'll be pitching with some extra motivation in a potential clincher.
"I'm pretty sure my dad is going to be proud of me when I pitch [Sunday] on the mound," Volquez said. "We'll see."
WHO'S HOT -- Royals catcher Salvador Perez went 3-for-4 with a double in Game 4 and has now hit safely in nine of his 11 career World Series games.
Perez has produced six extra-base hits (four doubles and two homers) among his 11 overall hits this postseason, and he's been swinging the bat with authority in October even if his .224 batting average in this year's playoffs doesn't reflect it. It appears Perez has benefited from the Royals building a big American League Central lead and Yost giving him more rest in favor of backup Drew Butera down the stretch.
WHO'S NOT -- Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer, Kansas City's No. 3 and 4 hitters, are batting a combined .156 (5-for-32) with nine strikeouts and no extra-base hits in the World Series. But they were both involved in the Royals' three-run eighth inning rally Saturday night. Cain drew an eight-pitch walk against Tyler Clippard, and Hosmer's ground ball skittered past New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy to allow Ben Zobrist to score the tying run and make it 3-3.
WHAT'S AT STAKE -- The Royals put themselves in a commanding position with their comeback win Saturday. They're the 46th team to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series. Of the previous 45, a total of 39 have gone on to capture the Fall Classic.
Nevertheless, the Royals have waited long enough to celebrate, and they're intent on putting this series away at Citi Field and avoiding a return trip to Kauffman Stadium for a potential Game 6 and 7.
"It's not going to be the end of the world if we don't," Yost said. "But I think everybody's going to come to the park [Sunday] ready to go."