Danny Duffy Shuts Out Indians for Key Win; Royals Split

Sep 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy (41) throws during the first inning of the second game of a double header against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals lost the suspended game 4-3, and then proceeded to knock off the Indians 2-0 behind 6 shutout innings from starter Danny Duffy at Progressive Field in Cleveland Monday night.

Kansas City made a nice run at pulling off the rally in the suspended game, which had been halted August 31st due to rain with Kansas City trailing 4-2 in the 10th. Mike Moustakas led off with a single, who then scored on Nori Aoki‘s RBI single with 2 outs. Jarrod Dyson pinch ran for Aoki and stole 2nd to put the tying run in scoring position, but Omar Infante popped out to short.

The 1-1 split allowed the Royals to gain 1/2 game on the Tigers, who were shut out by White Sox rookie Chris Bassitt in his first major-league start. The Royals now trail the Tigers by 1 game with 6 to play.

On the Mound

Danny Duffy pitched an outstanding game Monday night, going 6.0 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs with 5 strikeouts. Duffy left the game with the Royals leading 2-0 after 6 innings, and picked up his 9th win of the season..

Brandon Finnegan tossed a scoreless 7th inning, allowing 1 hit and notching 2 strikeouts.

Wade Davis held the Indians scoreless in the 8th inning, despite allowing a leadoff walk. Davis also notched 1 strikeout.

Greg Holland entered in the 9th and earned his 44th save with a clean 9th inning.

At the Plate

The Royals opened the game by scoring a run in the 1st inning. Nori Aoki singled, stole second, and scored on Eric Hosmer‘s single.

Kansas City added to their 1-0 lead in the 5th inning when Omar Infante led off with a double, advanced to 3rd on Mike Moustakas’ ground out, and scored on Alcides Escobar‘s infield single to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead.

Overall, Royals hitters put up 8 hits , 1 walk, and 2 runs. Omar Infante smacked the only extra-base hit (a double) and was the only Royal to get more than 1 hit, going 2 for 4 with 1 run scored.

This and That

Danny Duffy returned to the rotation after missing two stars with a sore shoulder. Duffy’s return is a big addition for KC in the season’s last week for the final playoff push. Duffy struggled early in the game, loading the bases in the 1st inning, but his stuff was so good he stranded 6 runners in the first 3 frames. Once his command settled down, he was dominant.

Ned Yost went to rookie Brandon Finnegan as his 7th inning man in place of Kelvin Herrera, who went 1.2 innings on Sunday. Finnegan, of course, was the Royals 1st round draft pick in the June draft who pitched for TCU in the College World Series earlier this year.

Wade Davis’ 8th inning strikeout set a Royals record for strikeouts by a reliever in a season at 104.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

We have to go with Danny Duffy for his 6 strong innings of shut out pitching. Duffy gave the Royals exactly what they needed on a day where runs were at a premium against tough Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco.

More from Kansas City Royals

Kelvin Herrera
Francisco Pena
Terrance Gore
Casey Coleman
Liam Hendriks
Aaron Crow
Josh Willingham – 2
Billy Butler – 8
Jason Frasor
Francisley Bueno
Danny Valencia
Christian Colon
Raul Ibanez
Jarrod Dyson – 2
Lorenzo Cain – 7
Johnny Giavotella
Wade Davis
Norichika Aoki – 7
Salvador Perez – 8
Jeremy Guthrie – 5
Jason Vargas – 8
Alex Gordon – 14
Bruce Chen – 5
James Shields – 12
Yordano Ventura – 6
Danny Duffy – 8
Omar Infante – 5
Mike Moustakas – 10
Alcides Escobar – 7
Eric Hosmer – 12
Erik Kratz

The Indians

Carlos Carrasco gave his team a strong 7.1 innings, allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs with 9 strikeouts against the team with the fewest K’s in baseball. It wasn’t Carrasco’s fault that his offense got shut out.

Up Next

The Indians and Royals play the 2nd game of their series on Tuesday night. Rookie Yordano Ventura (13-10, 3.19 ERA) will pitch for Kansas City, against Danny Salazar for the Indians (6-7, 4.02 ERA). Game time is 7:05 PM CST at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

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