Royals Report: 5 Things About NYC Bounce-Back

1.) DANNY DUFFY TRIES OUT FOR THIRD BULLPEN MONSTER ROLE

Last night, struggling Joakim Soria squandered a rare late-inning lead by allowing three runs in the seventh inning (though Alcides Escobar did not help him by booting a grounder to put the leadoff runner on first base, who later scored an unearned run).

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However, throw in the fact that Soria racked up his third balk of the season, and you can see that he can’t be comfortable on the mound. With a 4.96 ERA and wondering when umpires are going to give runners a 90-foot pass at any time, he can’t just concentrate on his job.

Instead, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost used Danny Duffy in the seventh inning as the first “monster” out of the KC Royals pen. Duffy didn’t disappoint, pitching a clean inning with one strikeout.

Duffy is blasting 96 mph gas as a reliever. As long as the Kansas City Royals insist on using him out of the bullpen, and Joakim Soria wallows, Duffy needs to take his place as the seventh inning member of KC’s three-headed bullpen monster.

Next: Five Reasons Royals Fans Should Be Concerned

The dominant back end has been an important part of the KC Royals winning formula that has yielded two consecutive AL pennants. Until Joakim Soria shows he’s back on track, he needs to give way to lefty flame-thrower Duffy.