Danny Duffy looks sharp in Royals’ 3-2 win over Reds

The Royals’ brass had more than a casual interest in how left-hander Danny Duffy would perform in his first spring-training start on Saturday.

Duffy made just three starts last September and two postseason relief appearances because of shoulder stiffness and concerns about a rib-cage injury.

Duffy quelled their worries for at least a while with a spotless and scoreless two-inning start in the Royals’ 3-2 victory over Cincinnati at Surprise Stadium. He threw 20 pitches, 13 for strikes and faced just six batters.

“It felt pretty good out there,” Duffy said. “I would have liked to have located down a couple of pitches, but for the most part, we were hitting our spots.”

Duffy, 26, said he hasn’t felt any soreness in his rib cage since last December.

“Everything is healed up, I feel really good, and I was out there trying easier, I guess, and it felt great,” said Duffy, who went 9-12 last season with a 2.53 ERA.

“I didn’t get a chance to throw too much off-speed. My fastball was locating really well. Next time I go out there, I’ll probably mix it up a little more if we get deeper in the counts. But a lot of first-pitch hacks, and I threw a lot of sinkers, too.”

Here is a link to the box score.

The Royals will next play the Angels at 3:10 p.m. on Sunday.

Other observations from a win that gave the Royals a 4-0 mark in the Cactus League:

▪ Shortstop Alcides Escobar made the defensive play of the day, diving in the hole and turning a 6-4-3 double play on Devin Mesoraco. “That was nice. I was staring at a 25-pitch inning in the face right there,” pitcher Wade Davis said.

▪ All-Star closer Greg Holland struck out the side in his one inning of work in the third.

▪ Second baseman Christian Colon made a quick tag on a throw from catcher Eric Kratz that cut down Yorman Dominguez trying to steal second base in the fifth.

This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Danny Duffy looks sharp in Royals’ 3-2 win over Reds."