Royals pitcher Danny Duffy happy to have a healthy start to his spring this year
Kansas City Royals left-hander Danny Duffy never got on the mound at Surprise Stadium last year before the Cactus League season ended.
Last year, Duffy began the regular season on the injured list after a shoulder ailment caused the team to shut down his throwing program during spring training.
On Sunday, Duffy made his first start of the spring and tossed two scoreless innings in a 10-6 loss to the Oakland Athletics at Surprise Stadium.
“I’m really pleased with how I feel,” Duffy said. “I’ve had a couple tough ones coming into camp, not feeling so great the last two, three years. This time around it’s a little bit better. I’m really thankful for that.”
Duffy allowed three hits — all singles — and walked one batter in two innings. He also struck out three while flashing a hard slider that came in at 87 mph, according to the stadium scoreboard.
“I was working on it a lot this offseason, trying to figure out ways to do something a little bit different with it,” Duffy said of the slider. “Nothing crazy, but I’m definitely trying to get more consistent with it and locating it. It seems to be doing well.”
He said he still needs to work on command of his fastball, but he expressed confidence it will come with time.
Singer gets stung
Royals pitching prospect Brady Singer had a tough time in the seventh inning Sunday.
Singer hadn’t allowed a run in his three previous innings (two games), but the Athletics chased him after 2/3 innings having scored three runs on three hits and three walks. He got one strikeout courtesy of his slider.
Pitching coach Cal Eldred made a mound visit during the inning, but Singer struggled with command throughout his short outing. Jackson Kowar came into the game and recorded the final out of the inning.
“Definitely, one of those days,” Singer said. “I mean, you’re going to have them in baseball, of course, throughout my whole career. The command was obviously off. But I felt like I competed out there. I’m healthy. Everything feels good, just one of those days.”
Two-hit Whit
Royals All-Star outfielder/infielder Whit Merrifield collected his first multi-hit game of the Cactus League season. Merrifield, who came into the day with just one hit, blasted a leadoff home run to right field in the bottom of the first inning.
Merrifield, who has led the majors in hits the past two seasons, also had a single in the third inning and a walk in the fifth.
He has has 398 hits over the course of the past two regular seasons, including 206 last year.
Pitching probables
The Royals will have their first off-day of the spring Monday, and they’ll play a night game Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Stadium.
Right-hander Jakob Junis is scheduled to pitch Tuesday’s game. Left-hander Mike Montgomery slots in as Wednesday’s starter followed by right-hander Brad Keller on Thursday.
Keller last pitched in a Cactus League game on Feb. 24. However, he was one of five pitchers who threw in a simulated/intrasquad game on the back field of the complex in Surprise Saturday morning.
Keller pitched 2 1/3 innings, while Kevin McCarthy (1 2/3), Jesse Hahn (1 2/3), Kyle Zimmer (1 2/3) and Conner Greene (2.0 innings) also pitched in that setting.
Burlington bought
The Royals Advanced Rookie level affiliate the Burlington Royals based in Burlington, N.C., announced an ownership change Sunday morning.
Former Burlington general manager Ryan Keur acquired Burlington Baseball Inc., which oversees the baseball club, from longtime owner Miles Wolff. Keur worked in Burlington from 2011-16.
This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
