Stephen Kolek’s return to the Royals’ rotation Thursday night came with a lot more behind it than a routine start at Kauffman Stadium.
After a week that centered on the birth of his daughter, Faye, and time spent away from the team, Kolek climbed back on the mound and tried to handle the night the same way he always does: one pitch at a time. The result was a short outing in Kansas City’s 5-2 loss to the Rays, but the bigger picture mattered more than the box score.
Kolek opened with a sharp, nine-pitch first inning, then ran into trouble in the second. That frame ballooned to 42 pitches and three runs, and it ended his night early. The Royals were already planning to be careful with him after a 10-day gap between starts, and once the inning got out of hand, manager Matt Quatraro went to the bullpen.
“It’s 40-something pitches, and the heat, being away for 10 days, just general fatigue,” Quatraro said. “Talking to him between innings, we just wanted to be cautious that he wasn’t going to injure himself.”
Kolek said he understood the decision. He had tried to stay loose while spending most of his time in the hospital with his family, but that obviously wasn’t the same as a normal in-between-starts routine.
“I was obviously very tired, but I was like, ‘I’m still feeling OK,’ but they wanted to play it safe,” Kolek said. “Forty-two pitches in one inning is a lot, and definitely was feeling the fatigue and needed a minute.
I think they ultimately made the decision to play it safe and not push through something, just given the week that I’ve had. It’s probably not the smartest idea to go back out right there.”
The week started with a major life event for Kolek and his wife, Jessica. On June 25, their daughter Faye was born seven weeks premature, weighing 3 pounds and 15 ounces. Faye has remained in the neonatal intensive care unit since then, and Kolek said both she and Jessica are doing well.
“She’s on the road, on a good progression and getting back there,” Kolek said of his daughter. “Just super thankful for all the doctors and nurses involved.
My amount of respect that I have for all the NICU nurses - they’re amazing. Hats off to all those nurses and doctors there, and just very thankful for them.”
The Royals had already given Kolek extra time to stay with his family. He last pitched on June 21 against the Cardinals, when he allowed nine runs in 1 2/3 innings.
He traveled with the club to St. Petersburg for the road trip, then left early to fly home to Texas, where Faye was born a week ago.
Because a player can only remain on the paternity list for a maximum of three days, Kansas City moved him to the family medical emergency list on Monday so he could stay in Texas longer.
By Wednesday, he was making his way back to Kansas City, and the Royals weren’t sure until late whether he’d be able to take the ball Thursday. When he did, his velocity looked strong early, a sign that the 10-day layoff had left him fresh. But the second inning drained that away quickly.
The Rays collected four hits in the inning, including two that gave right fielder Kameron Misner trouble, and added a walk before Kolek finally escaped. Long reliever Randy Dobnak was ready in the bullpen once Quatraro decided not to send Kolek back out.
Kolek said the time at the hospital made it tough to keep his arm in its usual shape, though he did throw when he could.
Kolek said he’ll be ready for his next start, which is good news for a Royals team dealing with a lot of injuries and leaning hard on its depth. The clubhouse, coaching staff and front office have all stayed in touch and offered support, knowing baseball has taken a back seat to everything else going on around him.
“He and his wife have been going through a lot with the birth of their child,” said catcher Carter Jensen, who hit a leadoff homer Thursday. “Thankfully, everything is good with that.
Just trying to help support him in any way we can. For him to come out and compete the way he did tonight - I know he didn’t get the result he wanted, but it shows a lot for him to be able to do that.”
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