Danny Duffy stood toe-to-toe with Justin Verlander all night on Monday evening and nearly bested the Tigers' Cy Young pitcher, but it wasn't meant to be in the 3-2 loss.
Duffy left a pitch up in the fifth inning to Brandon Inge, in what ended up being the winning two-run home run. However Duffy finished with 6.2 innings pitched, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out seven, while walking just one. 74 of his 106 pitches went for strikes.
On the year Duffy is 1-1 with a 2.13 and quickly becoming the Royals' best pitcher. For the year Duffy has 15 strikeouts against five walks after two outings.
What I enjoy greatly is he didn't try to pin this loss on his teammates for their lack of run support. Facing Verlander or not, Duffy spoke to the media after the game and reiterated how glad he is to be a member of this organization and how it was his fault for leaving the ball up in the zone against Inge. He held himself accountable, when he easily could have pointed the finger at others.
These losses are becoming a tough pill to swallow this early in the season, but Duffy's continued progress provides hope that the Royals are finding a true ace on the staff.