Royals pitcher Danny Duffy opens rehab assignment at Omaha

Royals pitcher Danny Duffy allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings on Saturday in his first rehab start for Class AAA Omaha.

It was his first game action since sustaining a strained oblique muscle in late May while covering first base in Cleveland.

Facing the Memphis Redbirds, the top affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, Duffy allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three. He worked two scoreless innings before allowing a walk and a two-run homer to Randal Grichuk, a former slugger with the Cardinals, in the third.

Duffy threw 48 pitches. He is expected to make three rehab starts for Omaha. He will likely be on a pitch count of 60 to 65 pitches in his next start.

“I had a hard time getting downhill a little bit today,” Duffy told reporters at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb. “But other than that, I felt like everything was working.”