Duffy had a Twins batter struck out twice. But borderline calls cost him in Royals loss
With the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning of Sunday afternoon’s game at Target Field, Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy had a small margin for error.
He had already yanked pitches too close to Twins third baseman Ehire Adrianza and lost him on a five-pitch walk. He had fumbled around enough. He needed to overwhelm rookie outfielder Jake Cave, a left-handed batter, to strand the three runners and retain a lead granted him by Lucas Duda’s two-run homer in the first inning.
The task didn’t seem gargantuan.
But as Duffy peppered the strike zone with a mix of 95 mph fastballs and breaking balls, home plate umpire Bill Miller seemed unimpressed. He called a pair of pitches that came in at the top corners too high. He said a fastball that entered at the bottom edge of the zone was too low.
Stuck in a 3-2 count, Duffy threw another heater for his seventh offering of the at-bat. It came in just too high, and Cave roped it 402 feet to right field for his first career grand slam. It wasn’t the game-defining hit, but the Royals still lost 6-5.
“I thought they were strikes,” Duffy said. “I look back and they were strikes. But (in a) 3-2 (count), I’m not gonna throw him a slider because my fastball is good enough to get by him. If I walk him on a slider then it’s dumb. But he’s teed up for a fastball there because it’s 3-2, bases loaded and I throw a pretty good fastball. I had him punched out twice and it’s tough to see the ball go out of the yard. But you still gotta keep pitching. It’s just one of those things.”
Duffy allowed two more runs in six innings of work. Max Kepler scored on an Adrianza single after stroking a ground-rule double to left-center field to lead off the inning. Adrianza came home when Robbie Grossman shot a line drive to the warning track in left field.
Duffy logged six strikeouts and didn’t allow more than one free pass for the first time since May 2 in Boston. A series of borderline calls might have made the difference as the Royals fell to 34-77.
“You grind for five days in between starts and go back out there and feel as good as you can and that happens,” Duffy said. “I just didn’t have a good curveball today. I didn’t have my best stuff but I had good stuff and I thought it was good enough. Just didn’t get the job done.”
Whit Merrifield, who went 4 for 5, hit a two-run homer in the seventh that put the Royals in striking distance. But with an opportunity to score in the eighth, Alcides Escobar struck out on Twins reliever Trevor May’s high fastball and stranded two runners in scoring position.
Mondesi tweaks shoulder: Infielder Adalberto Mondesi was held out of the starting lineup for a second straight game. He pinched a nerve in his shoulder diving for a ball in Friday’s loss here, manager Ned Yost said. Although he could have played either game, the Royals chose to exercise caution.
Mondesi appeared as a pinch runner for catcher Salvador Perez in the ninth inning. He stole two bases to reach third base. But he and Lucas Duda, who walked and stole second base uncontested, were stranded to end the game.
The Royals left nine on base. A road trip that began 3-3 ended with four straight losses and the Royals suffering their 13th sweep of the season.
“I just thought we were gonna find a way to score a run there,” Yost said. “We just couldn’t muster it.”
Sterling defense: Minutes after taking Escobar’s throw home to force out Mitch Garver at the plate and turning the ball over to Hunter Dozier at first base for a double play, Perez flashed defensive abilities again. Adrianza dropped a bunt to the left side and scurried up the line. But Perez got to the ball quicker than Adrianza got to the bag. He picked it up from the dirt before it had a chance to go foul, spun and threw right into Dozier’s outstretched glove.
This story was originally published August 5, 2018 at 4:11 PM.