Two pitches cost Danny Duffy, Royals in 6-1 loss to White Sox

The game turned on two pitches, a possible strike ignored by the umpire and a lifeless slider tattooed by a White Sox batter. Danny Duffy threw both. Alexei Ramirez only swung at one. He unleashed a three-run homer in the fourth inning that proved to be the decisive strike in a 6-1 Royals loss.

With a pair of runners aboard and none out, Duffy pumped two strikes to pull ahead of Ramirez. The game was scoreless and Duffy had cruised through his first three innings. He has found himself in competition with Kris Medlen for the last spot in Kansas City’s playoff rotation, and he fired a 95-mph fastball, low and inside, right at Ramirez’s knees.

The pitch arrived a touch lower than the previous two strikes. Behind the plate, umpire Vic Carapazza judged it a ball. The ruling was questionable, but that does not absolve Duffy for what happened next.

An 84-mph slider fluttered into the strike zone. Ramirez bashed the pitch over the left-field fence. With the Royals offense thinned as manager Ned Yost rested several of his regulars, the team never matched Chicago’s one blast as Kansas City (82-53) lost for the second night in a row.

“I didn’t execute on that slider,” Duffy said. “And it came back to bite me.”

Kansas City cobbled together a run in the eighth on a trio of infield hits, the last an RBI swinging bunt by Alex Gordon. Mike Moustakas came to bat as a pinch hitter representing the tying run. He scalded a grounder up the middle, but Ramirez made a diving stop to start a double play.

On Friday, Royals nemesis John Danks befuddled the group, as he does so often, in a complete game. A day later, the Royals fell victim to another lefty, this one Jose Quintana, who had previously posted a 5.63 ERA in his first four starts against them this season.

“Offensively, we just didn’t get it done tonight,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said.

The team wasted doubles in the second (Kendrys Morales), third (Alcides Escobar) and fourth (Alex Gordon), coming up empty each time against Quintana. When Paulo Orlando singled and Omar Infante doubled in the seventh, Yost inserted Jonny Gomes as pinch-hitter in the place of backup catcher Drew Butera.

Gomes makes his living hitting left-handed pitchers. But Gomes chased a 1-2 curveball in the dirt and could not check his swing. Escobar grounded out to strand both runners.

“We had chances,” Yost said. “We just didn’t capitalize on them, for sure. Quintana does a good job of changing speeds with his curveball, locating with his fastball and keeping you off balance.”

By then, the Royals trailed by four. Earlier in the seventh, Duffy committed another mistake. This time catcher Geovany Soto crushed a 3-1 fastball for a solo home run. Duffy recovered to finish the inning, completing a feat he had accomplished only four times in 22 starts this season.

In the ninth, rookie reliever Scott Alexander gave up two runs.

Save for the two homers, Duffy delivered one of his best outings in weeks. He operated as a snappy pace, with 103 pitches carrying him through seven. He fanned seven.

“I know our arms down there in the ‘pen have had quite the workload, especially in my starts lately,” Duffy said. “That was the No. 1 goal, to get through the seventh and into the eighth.”

He did issue two walks, including one to Jose Abreu to start the fourth inning. Abreu scored on Ramirez’s blast.

But a day after the White Sox battered Kris Medlen, pounding him for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings, Duffy inched ahead of his teammate in the race for an October start. Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Yordano Ventura occupy the first three spots.

Duffy may never perform like a metronome. He loses his release point like a forgetful man loses his keys, and the bouts of wildness occur without warning. But his arsenal still affords him the ability to dominate hitters, sometimes only with just his fastball.

Duffy posted a 3.66 ERA in August. But in six starts, he averaged only 5 1/3 innings per outing.

“The stuff’s good,” Yost said. “The command’s still a little off. I mean, not crazy off.”

Even brief spells of spotty command can lead to disaster. Duffy issued a four-pitch walk of Abreu to start the fourth. Rookie outfielder Trayce Thompson hit a single up the middle. Then Duffy appeared to strike out Ramirez with a low fastball. When the umpire disagreed, Ramirez made Duffy’s next pitch disappear.

“I thought he threw a pretty darn good ballgame,” Yost said. “Other than one pitch.”

White Sox 6, Royals 1

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a-struck out for Butera in the 7th. b-grounded into a double play for Cuthbert in the 8th.

1-ran for A.Gordon in the 8th.

LOB: Chicago 6, Kansas City 8. 2B: Av.Garcia (16), A.Escobar (18), K.Morales 2 (38), A.Gordon (15), Infante (22). HR: Al.Ramirez (9), off D.Duffy; Ge.Soto (9), off D.Duffy. RBIs: Eaton (42), Me.Cabrera (63), Al.Ramirez 3 (54), Ge.Soto (21), A.Gordon (42). SB: Saladino (6).

Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 4 (Eaton, Tr.Thompson, Abreu 2); Kansas City 7 (Infante, Hosmer, Orlando, A.Gordon, A.Escobar 2, Moustakas). RISP: Chicago 3 for 8; Kansas City 2 for 14. Runners moved up: Tr.Thompson, L.Cain, K.Morales, Orlando. GIDP: Av.Garcia, Ge.Soto, Moustakas. DP: Chicago 1 (Al.Ramirez, Abreu); Kansas City 2 (A.Escobar, Infante, Hosmer), (A.Escobar, Infante, Hosmer).

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Petricka pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Holds: N.Jones (5). Inherited runners-scored: Duke 1-1, N.Jones 2-0. WP: Alexander.

Umpires: Home, Vic Carapazza; First, Ron Kulpa; Second, Larry Vanover; Third, Brian Knight. Time: 2:52. Att: 37,827.

AP-WF-09-06-15 0208GMT

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Two pitches cost Danny Duffy, Royals in 6-1 loss to White Sox."