Danny Duffy injured in Loss to Yankees

Sep 6, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy (41) crouches behind the pitchers mound before throwing his first pitch in a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals started the day with Danny Duffy walking off the mound after throwing one pitch. The Royals were never able to get on track, falling 6-2 to the Yankees in New York on Saturday afternoon.

The loss drops the Royals to 16 games over .500 at 78-62. Kansas City remains 2 games ahead of the Tigers in the A.L. Central, after Detroit lost 5-4 against San Francisco at Comerica Park.

On the Mound

Danny Duffy threw one pitch before removing himself from the game in what could be a very damaging injury to the Royals playoff hopes if he misses significant time down the stretch. He left the game with left shoulder soreness.

Liam Hendriks took over for Duffy in the 1st, going 4 innings while allowing 7 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) with 3 strikeouts.

Casey Coleman entered in the 5th and allowed 3 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs in 1.0 innings of work.

Brandon Finnegan entered in the 6th and pitched 2 clean innings with 2 strikeouts in an impressive debut for the Royals.

Louis Coleman pitched a scoreless 8th despite giving up a single.

At the Plate

Alex Gordon drove in the Royals 1st run with an RBI single to center to score Mike Moustakas from 2nd. Omar Infante was thrown out trying to advance from 1st to 3rd to end the 3rd inning. Gordon’s hit tied the score at 1-1. Alex Gordon went 1 for 3 with a single, walk, and 1 RBI. Gordon was the only Royal to reach base twice.

The Royals plated their second run on Mike Moustakas’ sacrifice fly in the 7th that scored josh Willingham from 3rd.

Overall, the Royals only managed 6 hits and 1 walk against Yankee pitching. No Royal had more than one hit.

This and That

The game was nationally broadcast on Fox Sports.

The first 4 Royals pitchers: Danny Duffy, Liam Hendriks, Casey Coleman, and Brandon Finnegan made their Yankee Stadium debuts on Saturday.

Brandon Finnegan made his major league debut Friday after the Royals selected him in the 1st round of the 2014 June Draft. He sent down the Yankees in order in his first big league inning, including a strikeout against future Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter in the 6th.

The loss to the Yankees snapped the Royals 4-game winning streak.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game tht

Our nod goes to rookie Brandon Finnegan, from TCU, who made his major-league debut with an impressive 2-inning relief stint. Finnegan helped the Royals keep the game within reach. Finnegan is the first Royal to debut in the same year he was drafted since Bo Jackson in 1986.