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KC Royals: Danny Duffy Pitching Well Since Rejoining Rotation

By Leigh Oleszczak

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The KC Royals split the series with the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, two being walk-off wins. One of the bigger stories over the weekend came on Sunday, when Danny Duffy made his third start since coming off the disabled list.

Duffy pitched a great game against the Twins, lasting 6.1 innings and allowing two runs. Duffy surrounded five hits, walked three guys, and struck out one. One of his two runs was a solo shot in the third inning, but Duffy settled down nicely after that, pitching clean innings until he was taken out in the seventh inning for Ryan Madson.

Duffy was not having a good season in 2015. At one point, he posted a 6.35 ERA and was not looking like the Danny Duffy we saw in 2014. His worst performance of the season came against the Indians where Duffy gave up six hits and four runs in one inning of work. That performance alone inflated Duffy’s ERA from a 3.45 to a 4.55.

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Honestly, I was glad when the Kansas City Royals put Duffy on the disabled list back in May. Not because he was hurt obviously, but because he wasn’t pitching well, and he needed some time to regroup and regain his command. Since his return, Duffy has looked sharp.

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In his first appearance back and his first time on the mound for the KC Royals since late May, Duffy went 4.2 innings and only allowed two runs off of eight hits against the Mariners. Duffy didn’t last long in that game, but he was on a pitch limit and delivered in a game that the Royals went on to win.

His second appearance came against the Astros and wasn’t necessarily great, but wasn’t awful. He went 6.2 innings, but allowed four runs.

Going into Sunday’s game, I was worried about Danny Duffy. I wanted to see a flash of what we saw from him in 2014, and Sunday’s game was just that. Sure, he gave up two runs fairly early on, but it was a great outing for Duffy, and hopefully he can keep this type of play up, as the Royals will need Duffy at his best as the season progresses.

Danny Duffy started the 2015 season as the Kansas City Royals’ number two starter in the rotation. He’d probably be considered the third or fourth guy now (depending on who we’re counting here), but if he can keep pitching like he has as of lately, maybe we can say that 2014 Danny Duffy is back.

Next: Ranking the Royals Bullpen

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