Junis reflects on latest start, family and struggles

CHICAGO – Jody Junis wrapped his eldest son in a bear hug Wednesday night outside the visitor’s clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field, sporting a smile common among proud fathers.

Jake Junis had just picked up his sixth win of the 2018 MLB season with the Royals, going 5 2/3 innings and striking out five while allowing just four runs, six hits and three walks. More importantly to him, Kansas City won the game 10-5.

The 2011 Rock Falls grad was making his first major-league start in Illinois, a mere 120 miles east of the baseball diamond at Hinders Field.

Fifteen years ago, 10-year-old Jake Junis took the field at what was then U.S. Cellular Field as a competitor in the Pitch, Hit and Run National Finals, which took place during MLB All-Star Week in 2003. On Wednesday, Jody Junis watched his son with the same kind of joy.

“A kid from Rock Falls, Illinois playing in the big leagues is amazing,” Jody Junis said. “Whether he sucks or he’s good, he’s still there. I tell him to cherish it every day.”

Jake Junis estimated that about 100 family members, friends and people from Rock Falls were in attendance to watch him pick up his 15th career big-league win. His wife, Brianne, and the couple’s twins, Penelope and Jones, were back home in Kansas City, and several other family members were vacationing in Florida. However, old friends and teammates from Rock Falls came out to watch the former Rockets standout.

“Obviously you want to do well in front of all those people who support you and going out of their way to watch you,” Junis said. “I pitched in Milwaukee earlier this year with a bunch of people there, and that one didn’t go so well. Thankfully I was able to make up for it [Wednesday].”

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Jake Junis was due for something to go right. The Royals starter went 74 days between wins, as he picked up his fifth win of the season May 18 against the New York Yankees.

“I got back to my old self,” Junis said, “attacking hitters, keeping the ball low and my pitch count down. I had a couple quick innings and started throwing my slider to get some strikeouts.”

After the win in May, Junis’ record was 5-3 with an ERA of 3.51. However, things started to go downhill in a hurry after a no decision against St. Louis in his next start.

Junis suffered seven straight losses, as his ERA ballooned to 5.13. To make matters worse, he landed on the 10-day disabled list July 8 with lower back inflammation.

“He got to the point where he was thinking every pitch, and he just needed to go out there and throw the baseball,” Jody Junis said. “I’ve told him that he’s the only person that can beat himself. If you believe in yourself, then you’re the only one that can let yourself down.”

Jake’s family stuck with him amid the struggles, and while everything seemed to be negative, Yost couldn’t tell in the clubhouse that his young righty was downtrodden.

“I don’t get any sense of anything he does,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He’s just blank-faced. You never know what he’s thinking.”

Jake Junis took a no decision in his first start after the All-Star break on June 21 against Minnesota. He tossed 77 pitches in four innings, struck out six, and allowed four hits, one run and two walks as the Royals won 4-2.

Last Thursday, Junis took suffered a loss against the Yankees, going 4 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits, seven runs (three earned) and two walks while striking out three. In addition to the physical challenges of pitching, the Rock Falls native had his mental toughness tested.

Junis hit reigning American League Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge with a fastball early in the game, which resulted in a fractured wrist for the slugger. When Yankee fans learned that Judge was likely to miss most of August with the injury, they took to Twitter to voice their frustrations with Junis in the form of hateful tweets and death threats.

“I’ve basically just ignored it,” Junis said. “It’s not really my personality or place to say anything about it. It was the second batter of the game, I was ahead in the count, and the ball just got away from me. I would never want to put somebody out for a period of time. I feel terrible about it.”

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The confines of Guaranteed Rate Field proved friendly for Junis and the Royals’ offense on Wednesday night.

The right-hander allowed a leadoff home run to Yoan Moncada, but settled into a groove after wiggling out of a jam in the first inning. Catcher Salvador Perez controlled the White Sox’s running game, as the perennial All-Star threw out a runner each in the second and third.

Junis breezed through the fourth and fifth, needing just 13 pitches to retire the six batters he faced. With his pitch count at 54, a deep start looked probable.

“He started coming out of it in the fifth,” Yost said. “We had that long inning, and he struggled to get loose. He just lost the feel for it in the sixth, which was too bad because he had his pitch count where he could have gone deeper into the game.”

Junis allowed three walks and two hits in the sixth, which resulted in three runs for Chicago and a call to the bullpen for Kansas City. However, the last out he recorded was a strikeout of Yolmer Sanchez in which Junis’ slider actually hit the White Sox’s No. 2 hitter.

Junis is tied with Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy for the MLB lead in home runs allowed this season (26), but has worked closely with his coaches and catcher on keeping the ball down in the strike zone.

“When he keeps the ball down, he’s really good,” Perez said of Junis. “His slider really plays here in the big leagues. He’s a great guy who’s quiet, and he loves to compete when he’s on the mound.”

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Kansas City is 34-74 on the season, and appears to be headed toward a full rebuild at the end of the season. The Royals lost Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain prior to the season in free agency, traded Jon Jay and Kelvin Herrera in June, and dealt Mike Moustakas to the Milwaukee Brewers a week ago before the non-waiver trade deadline.

“Even though there are a lot of losses, it’s fun to play with guys you played with in the minor leagues and watch them do well,” Junis said. “We know it’s a work in progress with a lot of young guys, myself included. Hopefully we gel and keep getting better and working hard; that’s all we can do.”

Only Perez, left fielder Alex Gordon and shortstop Alcides Escobar remain as core pieces from Kansas City’s 2015 World Series championship team. Amid an ever-changing clubhouse and growing pains as a team, Junis has prided himself on being a steady presence for a team in transition.

“I don’t want to get out of who I am,” Junis said. “I’ve had success in this league, and I want to try to build on that. I just don’t want to be someone I’m not. I want to be a guy that goes out there and pitches deep into games, keeps the pitch count down, picks up some strikeouts along the way, and helps the team win.”

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Fifteen years ago, Jody Junis watched his son compete against some of the best 10-year-olds in the United States. Now, he’s watching a grown man compete in a kid’s game every fifth day against the best baseball players in the world.

“He’s just such a great kid,” Jody Junis said, “and a great dad. This game is hard being away from your family 10 days at a time. That’s probably the biggest thing he’s had to adjust to. His twins are getting older, and they know when he’s leaving now, so it’s harder for him to leave.

“But this is so special. I take none of this for granted knowing he’s playing at this level. I’m truly blessed that my kid is a big leaguer.”