Duffy continues lights-out pitching as Royals shut out Tigers in series-clinching win
They rode a different set of pitchers, but the Kansas City Royals used a familiar formula of getting stifling pitching from both their starter and their bullpen — and an aggressively opportunistic offense — to clinch a series victory in Detroit and extend their win streak to four games Sunday afternoon.
One day after pitcher Brady Singer turned in a fairly-dominant performance, Royals starter Danny Duffy manipulated and mystified the Tigers’ lineup to set the tone for the pitching staff’s third shutout of the season: a 4-0 Royals victory in front of an announced 8,000 at Comerica Park.
The Royals (13-7) have won the first three games of the four-game series and can sweep the series with another win Monday afternoon.
Carlos Santana drove in two runs and Hunter Dozier hit his second home run of the season, while Whit Merrifield, Andrew Benintendi and Michael A. Taylor collected two hits apiece.
Duffy (3-1) pitched five scoreless innings without a walk. He gave up four hits and struck out eight. Through four starts, Duffy has allowed one earned run, 18 hits and six walks and struck out 27 in 23 innings.
“I try not to get caught up in what’s already happened,” Duffy said. “I think my one-game-at-a-time kind of mentality right now is helping me to really focus a lot. It has been a while since I’ve felt this good, this consistent in the zone.”
Duffy lowered his ERA this season to 0.39, the second-lowest in Royals history through four starts in a season behind only Zack Greinke in 2009 (0.00).
With Duffy’s eight-strikeout performance, Royals starters have now struck out at least eight batters in three consecutive games for the first time since 2014 and the third time in franchise history.
Duffy followed in the footsteps of Mike Minor (nine strikeouts) and Brady Singer (eight). The other trios in club history to accomplish the feat included James Shields (eight), Jason Vargas (eight) and Yordano Ventura (nine) from May 13-15, 2014, and as Kevin Appier (13), José Rosado (eight) and Doug Linton (nine) from August 29-31, 1996.
Duffy entered the day second-lowest ERA in the American League (0.50) behind the Chicago White Sox’ Carlos Rodón (0.47) and fourth-lowest in the majors. Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes (0.37) and the New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom (0.31) lead the way.
When asked what’s been most impressive about Duffy’s recent run to start the season, Royals manager Mike Matheny pointed first to Duffy’s consistent velocity.
“How he has been able to hold it just shows he’s getting stronger,” Matheny said. “That’s not necessarily a trend for a guy who has been in the league for a little while. Then I’d say his command of all of his pitches. He used everything really well today. His changeup was effective. He had swing and miss on the curveball. … He did a nice job elevating today, too, using the top of the strike zone, especially when he got to two strikes.”
Through four starts, Duffy has pitched the equivalent of 3 1/3 innings with runners in scoring position. He has struck out three and allowed just two hits and one unearned run in those situations.
Duffy credited his success in those spots to taking his time, focusing on his breathing and being aware of where his infield defense is positioned.
“Really locking in, staying calm, not letting any situation get the best of you,” Duffy said. “I think when you remember that it’s the same game you’ve been playing for however many years, and we’ve gotten out of situations before and we can do it again — that’s kind of the mentality that I feel right now. It’s just a major amount of calm. It has been nice to wrangle it back in when it gets away from you.”
Duffy gave up a leadoff single in the fourth inning but squashed that threat with the help of catcher Salvador Perez. After Duffy struck out Miguel Cabrera for the second time in the game, Niko Goodrum attempted to steal second. Perez delivered a strong, accurate throw and Merrifield applied the tag for the second out of the inning.
The Tigers got two more singles in the inning to put runners on first and third with two outs, but Duffy struck out Willi Castro to end the inning.
Relief pitchers Kyle Zimmer (one inning), rookie left-hander Jake Brentz (two) and veteran Wade Davis (one) held the Tigers to one hit and one walk over the final four innings.
The Royals scored one run in the fifth inning and one in sixth. They manufactured a run in the fifth when Taylor led off with a single to right field, advanced to second on Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt, stole third base and scored on a bloop single by Merrifield.
In the sixth, Dozier’s second home run of the season, a line drive that exited the playing field in a hurry, provided the Royals’ second run of the day. Dozier has just two hits since April 19, but both have been home runs.
The Royals tacked on two more runs in the ninth inning on Santana’s two-run single.
“It’s always good that (starters) are going deep into games, keeping us in it,” Lopez said. “We’re a very confident team, so when we’re holding it, keeping it close, we know that we’re going to break through eventually. Our (starting) pitchers have been doing a great job — same with our bullpen, too. Hats off to them, and I expect them to keep it going.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Duffy continues lights-out pitching as Royals shut out Tigers in series-clinching win."
