Fresh from facing a baseball team from Chicago, the Kansas City Royals turned around to play the other baseball team from Chicago in the first of a split four-game series with the Cubs, with two games at Wrigley Field and two at Kauffman Stadium. But despite the team’s best start all season thanks to the left arm of Danny Duffy and some gnarly bullpen work by Josh Staumont, the Royals’ bats were unable to capitalize on their opportunities and lost 2-0.
But let’s start with Duffy. Throughout his decade-long career with the Royals, Duffy has developed a reputation as an above average starting pitcher whose struggles with pitch efficiency, inconsistency, and latter-inning woes have prevented him from being truly great.