San Francisco Giants at Kansas City Royals

As Luinder Avila has settled into the Royals’ rotation during his rookie season, what he needs to do to succeed has always been clear: Trust your stuff in the zone, and good things will follow. We’ve written it here a number of times and tried to document all of the ways Avila is trying to stick to that approach. Tuesday night against the Giants was more evidence of why the approach and mindset works. In his 10th big league start, Avila tossed his first career quality start with a career-high 6 1/3 innings, allowing just two runs to go along with a career-high seven strikeouts in the Royals’ 3-2 win at Kauffman Stadium, clinching the series win and a winning homestand with Wednesday’s finale still to play. Feeling fresh after extended rest after the All-Star break, Avila was featuring the type of stuff that has the Royals excited about his future with them, with a sinker that averages 96.8 mph but hit 98.9 mph at one point Tuesday. His four-seam fastball is just as powerful, averaging 96.5 mph and topping out at 98.6 mph. That kind of stuff is enticing as a reliever, which Avila has done before, but if he’s commanding it like he did Tuesday, there are going to be a lot of conversations about him as a starter next year and beyond. “Right from the get-go, aggressive fastballs down in the zone, upper-90s velo with good sink, slider in the zone,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, it was exciting to watch. That’s the high-end stuff that we know he has, and the ability to get in the zone, I know he’s worked really hard between starts.”