One bad pitch results in one bad inning, another loss for Royals' Duffy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Gordon stopped. Jason Frasor ducked. Salvador Perez received a fresh ball. Danny Duffy spiked it.
The reactions to Chase Headley's three-run home run were varied among the Royals, who dropped a 5-1 decision to the Yankees on Saturday night. Headley's homer flipped a fortunate outing from Duffy into a sour one, his third rough start in a row.
Duffy survived his longest outing of the month, weathering command issues and two early errors. He didn't allow a hit through the first 3 1/3 innings, but tiptoed around four walks to the game's first 13 hitters.
Still, Duffy seemed poised to finish five frames with just one blemish on his line. In the fifth, he struck out Chris Young and Alex Rodriguez flew out, the first two Yankees quickly retired and the end of the inning in sight.
"It was encouraging with two outs in the fifth inning," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "The matchups were perfect for him to close the inning out."
But Mark Teixeira singled. So did Carlos Beltran. Headley fouled off Duffy's first two offerings, running the count to 0-2 and returning the end of the inning to Duffy's vision. Duffy's 96-mph fastball missed the zone, as did two off-speed offerings. Headley fouled off one more Duffy pitch before unloading on an 84-mph changeup, depositing it into the Royals' bullpen.
"One bad inning and one bad pitch is really frustrating," Duffy said. "But what's done is done and I feel like I'm going to turn the corner."
Duffy exited after the fifth inning after burdening his arm with 113 pitches and allowing four runs on four hits.
In each of Duffy's last three outings, he has been tagged for at least four runs and hasn't seen the sixth inning. He has completed a combined 9 2/3 innings, allowing 14 earned runs (13.03 ERA) on 15 hits and 10 walks (2.586 WHIP).
Duffy's start could be looked at as an improvement over his previous two, Yost said, pointing to his command of off-speed pitches.
"If you're looking on the bright side, it was a little better," Yost said. "His feel and touch was better. He was staying within himself better. The results still weren't there."
Yost was noncommittal about Duffy's place in the rotation, saying any decision like that wouldn't be made immediately following the game.
"I know my teammates believe in me," Duffy said. "I believe in me. The coaching staff believes in me. I know I'm better than these results. I can look myself in the mirror tonight and know that I gave it everything I had tonight."
Duffy's downturn came on the heels of his best outing of the season, a seven-inning silencing of Detroit on the last day of April. To the Royals, though, those 16 days since Duffy's last victory feel much longer, especially with the rotation down a starter and struggling overall.
But Duffy remained upbeat after the game, focused on reversing the recent downswing and returning to the pitcher who was arguably Kansas City's best last season.
"Keep pitching," Duffy said. "Keep doing what I do. Work, work, work, work.
"I feel like what I have in the tank is going to get most big-league hitters out. I know my fastball is a pretty dang good fastball. If I locate it like I know how, I think it's going to get the job done. Just need to get to that point."
You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.
