Duffy appreciates Royals’ defense stepping up

KANSAS CITY — With two on and none out in the second inning, Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was in danger of letting the game get away from him. Facing Eduardo Escobar, Duffy missed with four straight fastballs, loading the bases and giving the Twins a golden opportunity.

Duffy got the first out of the inning, but an 0-1 changeup to Kurt Suzuki caught enough of the plate for Suzuki to make contact. The ball carried toward shallow left field, where Alex Gordon made a fantastic sliding catch, traveling 104 feet with a route efficiency of 94.5 percent, according to Statcast™. It was the first of several stellar plays by the Royals’ defense in a 2-1 win to complete a four-game series sweep.

With two down in the second, Danny Santana’s ground ball to the left side of the infield would have given the Twins a run, but Royals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert was able to snag the ball before contorting his body to throw to second for the final out.

“It didn’t look like it was a difficult play, but it …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com