Danny Duffy Roughed Up By Indians As Royals Lose 10-3
DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Danny Duffy offered no excuses for his poor performance. Nor did he try to blame anyone else.
The Indians roughed up the Royals' left-hander right out of the gate Wednesday night, and Cleveland rolled on to a 10-3 win that evened its three-game series with Kansas City.
"I really just didn't do my job today, is what it came down to," Duffy said. "I left the bullpen hanging and put the boys in a bad position. They weren't able to be comfortable."
Brandon Moss homered and added a two-run double to lead the Indians' charge, but six others also drove in runs, helping Carlos Carrasco (4-2) end a three-game skid against the Royals.
He gave up a two-run homer to Kendrys Morales, but otherwise shut down a Kansas City lineup that returned hot-hitting outfielder Lorenzo Cain from a two-game suspension.
"I felt good before the game," said Carrasco, who allowed five hits while striking out six in seven innings. "Just felt like it was going to be a good day."
Cleveland had already taken a 4-0 lead when Duffy (2-1) was yanked after facing five batters without getting an out in the second. The Royals' bullpen briefly slowed the onslaught, but the Indians added four more runs in the seventh to put the game away.
"I just didn't have my stuff. It's a weird feeling," Duffy said. "I haven't had that feeling in a long time, but it happens to everybody. And it will happen again at some point."
Duffy struggled with his command right from the start.
Carlos Santana scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, and the Indians banged out four more hits around a hit batter in the second to chase Duffy from the game.
Nick Swisher led off with a single, his first hit since returning from knee surgery last August. Mike Aviles was hit by a pitch, Lonnie Chisenhall doubled to drive in a run, and Brett Hayes and Jason Kipnis added back-to-back RBI singles to give the Indians a 4-0 lead.
Duffy actually plunked two batters, nailing Ryan Raburn in the first inning. The lefty also allowed six hits without a strikeout in one of the worst outings of his career.
"You could tell the first inning, he was struggling to get it going," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I was thinking, let's get through the first and he will regroup and get it going from that point on, and he just never really could tonight."
Santana added a sacrifice fly off reliever Brandon Finnegan in the fourth.
Kansas City's stingy bullpen kept the Indians from extending their lead for a while, and Morales started whittling into it with his two-run shot in the fourth.
The Royals looked as though they were going to take another gouge out of the lead in the sixth when Eric Hosmer ripped an RBI double down the left-field line. Morales walked to put runners on first and second, but Carrasco got Salvador Perez to ground out, ending the threat.
"That was a big swing there, where Carlos holds them and then we score," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "That's the way we've got to play because they're a good team."
The Indians then added four more runs off Franklin Morales in the seventh.
Just about the only good news for Kansas City was the return of reliever Greg Holland from the disabled list. He'd been out since April 18 with a strained pectoral muscle.
The Indians made sure the All-Star closer wasn't a factor.
GORDON STRUGGLES
Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, who had been 2 for 17 in his career vs. Carrasco, struck out in each of his four at-bats against him. Two of the strikeouts ended innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: LHP Bruce Chen will start Saturday against Minnesota in place of T.J. House, who's on the DL with a sore left shoulder.
Royals: C Erik Kratz (plantar fasciitis) went on the DL, retroactive to Sunday. C Francisco Pena was recalled from Triple-A Omaha.
UP NEXT
Indians: AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (0-4, 4.62 ERA) tries to straighten out his season in the series finale. He lost to the Royals on April 27.
Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez (2-3) tries to improve on his 2.10 ERA, seventh-best in the American League. He's 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA at home this season.
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