Danny Duffy stumbles, Royals can’t recover in 10-3 loss to Indians

The chorus of concerned Royals approached Danny Duffy during the final eight innings of Wednesday night’s 10-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Duffy had stumbled through the briefest start of his career, save for two that were short-circuited by injuries, and his teammates hoped sought the source of his troubles.

“Do you feel good?” they asked. “Do you feel good?”

The worry was merited. Duffy underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012. He missed most of September and October last year with various ailments. He assured his teammates that he felt fine, healthier than ever, despite the results. Duffy pitched in the second inning, but collected only three outs on the night. The Indians dented him for four runs.

He spent the evening without control of his weapons, watching sliders spray into the backstop and fastballs clatter off outfield walls. With no outs in the second inning, Duffy thumped the baseball into manager Ned Yost’s hand. He endured the awkwardness of polite applause as he exited the diamond.

“I really just didn’t do my job today,” Duffy said after the game. “That’s what it came down to. I left the bullpen hanging. I put the boys in a bad position.”

Duffy (2-1, 4.55 ERA) faced 10 batters. Six collected hits. He plunked two more with pitches. He exposed the Royals’ relief corps to eight innings of toil.

The Royals (17-10) scratched away at the deficit after Duffy departed. Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer. Eric Hosmer ripped an RBI double. Then, with Kansas City down two runs in the seventh inning, Royals reliever Franklin Morales gave up four. The excitement exited Kauffman Stadium. The abbreviated performance from Duffy set the tone.

“He just looked out of sorts to me,” Yost said. “He just could not find his rhythm. And it didn’t look to me like he was going to find it.”

The Indians did not batter Duffy in swift fashion. They took extended, drawn-out at-bats laden with foul balls and wayward pitches. It was torture on the mind and on Duffy’s ERA. The night harkened back to his days as a rookie, when he found himself unable to put away big-league hitters.

“I just didn’t have my stuff tonight,” Duffy said. “It’s a weird feeling. I haven’t had that feeling in a long time.”

Duffy has yet to find traction this season. He has qualified for a quality start in only two of his six appearances. He has pitched in the seventh inning just twice. Yet he appeared so effective only five games prior.

The efficiency of his last outing only added to the incongruity of Wednesday. Duffy stifled the Detroit Tigers for seven innings. He struck out seven batters and allowed one run. His outing granted rest to a taxed bullpen. Pitching coach Dave Eiland had asked for a lengthy outing, and Duffy answered.

“I don’t want to focus too hard on, because that’s been the (theme) of my career, ‘How efficient can you be?’” Duffy said. He offered a harbinger for Wednesday’s horrors. “The efficiency’s got to stay consistent,” he said. “Hopefully, we can have it our next start out, too.”

On Sunday and Tuesday, Lorenzo Cain served his two-game suspension for fighting with White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija in the brawl at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Cain provided an immediate benefit to his club. His arm aided Duffy during a shaky opening inning.

Duffy yielded a leadoff double to second baseman Jason Kipnis and a subsequent single to first baseman Carlos Santana. Cain scooped Santana’s hit on the run and flung the ball home. Salvador Perez caught the ball and slapped a tag in Kipnis’ left armpit. The rest of the inning would be less comforting for Perez.

Facing outfielder Ryan Raburn, Duffy lost the handle on a slider. The baseball ricocheted off Raburn’s right leg and onto the bare right hand of Perez. He bolted from his position behind the plate, shaking his hand and grimacing. After a visit from trainer Nick Kenney, Perez remained in the game. There was nothing he could do to prevent what followed.

With runners at the corners, Duffy stood an out away from a scoreless inning. Instead he uncorked a slider to outfielder Brandon Moss that sliced through the opposite batter’s box. Santana skated home on the wild pitch.

“He hits a hitter in the foot,” Yost said. “And the next pitch was three feet outside. It was everything. It was one of those nights for him. A struggle with command, a struggle with his timing and tempo. Just never could get on track.”

Duffy unraveled in the next inning. Nick Swisher cracked a leadoff single. Duffy plunked former Royal Mike Aviles with another misplaced slider. Lonnie Chisenhall doubled over Jarrod Dyson’s head in right and brought home a run.

As the evening fell apart, Duffy could not stumble into luck. He spotted a 94-mph fastball on the outside corner against Brett Hayes, another former teammate. Hayes still dumped an RBI single into center. Finnegan loosened up inside the bullpen.

After a pair of quick strikes to Kipnis, Duffy committed his final mistake of the evening. He hung a curveball. Kipnis shuttled it to left field. A fourth run scored.

Duffy stepped off the mound after the hit. Yost lingered in the dugout for a moment. He signaled for a left-hander. Duffy handed over the ball. He did not stay to chat.

“I didn’t set this team to even be in shouting distance,” Duffy said. “By the time I came out of the game, it was a significant deficit. It’s very frustrating. But if you sit here and dwell on something, the season’s going to take off, and you’re not going to go with it. So I’m just going to go back out there next time and do what I know how to do.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Danny Duffy stumbles, Royals can’t recover in 10-3 loss to Indians."