Unsolicited, Tigers manager Jim Leyland praised Royals rookie Danny Duffy on Sunday as a potential pitching star. </p><p>&#x93;I may be exaggerating,&#x94; Leyland said. &#x93;I might be going out on a limb, but I believe this with all my heart: I think he has a chance to be a star. Duffy, I really like him a lot. He&#x92;s got a lot of potential, and you&#x92;ll never know if it will play for sure. But he&#x92;s a baby left-hander who&#x92;s really, really good.&#x94;</p><p>Leyland&#x92;s words came with a caveat, though. Duffy, whom the Royals selected in the third round of the 2007 draft, still needs to refine his command and feel for pitching. </p><p>Royals manager Ned Yost agreed, contrasting Duffy and Justin Verlander, the Tigers&#x92; ace who outlasted Duffy on Saturday. </p><p>&#x93;Duffy comes out and sees the sign, rears back and fires it,&#x94; Yost said. &#x93;Verlander sees a sign and he rears back and throws it. When you have good stuff like they do, you can add and subtract on your pitches. What Verlander&#x92;s doing is cruising.&#x94;</p><p>Verlander threw only five more pitches than Duffy on Saturday but lasted two more innings. That shows how Verlander has learned to add and subtract while getting outs early in the count.</p><p>Duffy (3-5, 5.08 ERA) hasn&#x92;t lasted longer than five innings in his last three starts. On Saturday, his fastball clocked in at 96 miles per hour without much variation in speed.</p><p>He threw 105 pitches in five innings.</p><p>&#x93;You get to the point where you learn feel and touch,&#x94; Yost said. &#x93;You learn how to execute your pitches. You learn how to stay aggressive without overthrowing and then you get what Verlander is now.&#x94;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Assist record</span></strong></p><p>Alex Gordon recorded his 18th outfield assist Sunday, breaking the Royals&#x92; single-season record by helping throw out Miguel Cabrera at second base.</p><p>Jermaine Dye and Mark Teahan previously shared the record with 17 assists, though it took Dye 157 total games and Teahan 138 games to do so. In his first full season in left field, Gordon picked up assist No. 18 in his 109th game this season.</p><p>&#x93;I don&#x92;t think I have a great arm, but I think I get to balls well and get rid of it quickly,&#x94; Gordon said. &#x93;I think I&#x92;m accurate. I don&#x92;t think I have as good an arm as Frenchy (Jeff Francoeur), but I do think I get to balls quickly and get rid of it quicker.&#x94;</p><p>Francoeur gunned down Jhonny Peralta trying to go from first to third in the seventh inning. It was his 12th assist and the 40th by the Royals this season, tying the 40 assists the Tigers had last year that led the majors.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Gordon ejected</span></strong></p><p>Gordon was then thrown out himself &#x97; by home-plate umpire Rob Drake &#x97; after flinging his bat in the air following a called third strike in the eighth inning. It was Gordon&#x92;s first ejection of his career. Yost was also ejected for the second time this season and the 22nd time of his career.