Royals Report: Bullpen Collapse Busts Winning Streak

4) Danny Duffy Pitched Well Enough To Win

On a hot day in which the ball was carrying very well in Kansas City, Danny Duffy did enough to earn a win—but was betrayed by his bullpen.

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I can’t fault manager Ned Yost for going to the pen in the sixth inning. Danny Duffy had hit 88 pitches and had given up three solo home runs. The KC Royals were holding onto a precarious 4-3 lead with the pen rested and ready.

It should have worked. On most days, the Kansas City Royals famed bullpen would have brought home a win.

Instead, Luke Hochevar gave up two home runs, including a killing two-run shot to Miguel Cabrera with two outs. That dinger put the Royals on a path where Yost typically uses his second line relievers trailing by two runs in the seventh inning. Reliever Peter Moylan then gave up four hits and one walk while allowing three more runs in the seventh, to put the game well out of reach at 9-4.

Chien-Ming Wang gave up yet another solo home run to Victor Martinez, his third of the game, to give Detroit a 10-4 advantage. Overall, Detroit hit six home runs on Thursday night.

Despite allowing three home runs, Danny Duffy worked out of a tough jam in the third inning when he allowed a walk to Detroit catcher James McCann and a single to outfielder Mike Aviles to open the inning. Duffy then struck out Ian Kinsler, got Jose Iglesias to ground out to short, and induced a fly ball from superstar Miguel Cabrera.

Danny Duffy is growing into a top-of-the-rotation pitcher before our eyes. Maybe he can become a bona fide ace.

Next: Jose Reyes