ST. LOUIS -- There isn't too much that gets Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez down.
Even after his worst career start last time out -- one-plus innings, 12 runs -- Volquez shrugged his shoulders and vowed to come back strong his next outing. He sure did, tossing 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball in the Royals' 3-2 win over the Cardinals in 12 innings on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.
"I think I did, too," Volquez said, laughing.
But how did Volquez come back so strong?
"I made an adjustment," he said. "I gave up 12 runs in one inning last time. And I talked to [pitching coach] Dave [Eiland], to make an adjustment and pitch a better game and I did it tonight."
What was the adjustment?
"Just get ahead," Volquez said, smiling again. "Throw strikes."
Apparently it was as simple as that. Volquez attacked the zone and walked just one hitter. He struck out four, gave up six hits, and kept the Cardinals off-balance.
"I just made more quality pitches," he said. "More movement in them, too."
Volquez said it was pretty easy to flush his last start out of his mind.
"You put it in the past," he said. "You can't carry that game to the next one. I always say: Whatever happens tonight, I put it in the past. And just move forward and just try to do better this time."
Mission accomplished.
"He just had a bad start last time," manager Ned Yost said. "But he had a good one tonight. He pitched deep into the seventh inning."