"Let there be no doubt. Royals manager Ned Yost not only didn't change his mind overnight regarding Joakim Soria's status as the club's closer following Tuesday's ninth-inning meltdown.

Yost was more emphatic than ever Wednesday that he's sticking with Soria.

"There's nothing different with Soria," he said, "and there's not going to be anything different with Soria."

The question of a change in closers surfaced after Soria blew a one-run lead Tuesday by allowing three ninth-inning runs in a 5-3 loss to the Orioles. It was Soria's third blown save and hiked his ERA to 5.12.

"He's not that far off from being right," Yost said. "His problem is he was just so automatic before, when he stumbles a little bit, people go crazy. That's the nature of being a closer.

"Your No. 4 hitter can go oh-for-12, and nobody is going to say any a word. Nobody is going to want you to get him out of the four spot. But your closer is expected to be perfect every single night. When he's not, it hurts.

"But you know what? They're not going to be perfect every night.""