OAKLAND, Calif. — Danny Duffy pitched six sharp innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics 3-0 in a rain-shortened game on Tuesday night.
Mike Moustakas hit an RBI double in the fourth and Mitch Maier added a solo homer in the seventh for Kansas City, which lost 1-0 at Oakland on Monday night.
The start of the game was delayed 43 minutes by rain, and a steady drizzle continued throughout the night.
A second delay was called after Eric Hosmer struck out in the top of the eighth during a downpour. The bat slipped out of Hosmer’s hands and landed just above the steps in the Royals dugout, prompting umpires to call for the tarp. The game was officially called at 11:07 p.m. local time.
Duffy (1-0) allowed one hit, struck out eight and walked four in his first game of the season. Three of the left-hander’s five career wins have come in Oakland, and he had little problem keeping that streak going despite the wet conditions.
Crow pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for the save, his first in the majors.
Cliff Pennington doubled with one out in third for Oakland’s only hit, and he was picked off. Duffy pitched with runners on base in two other innings and got out of trouble each time with some help from Kansas City’s defense.
Both teams were pressing to get the game in regardless of the weather, since this is Kansas City’s lone trip to Northern California this season and rain is predicted for the Bay Area through the rest of the week as well.
Kansas City pushed across two runs in the fourth against Graham Godfrey. Billy Butler hit a leadoff double, took third on Jeff Francoeur’s bloop single and scored when Moustakas hit a long fly ball that glanced off the glove of center fielder Yoenis Cespedes. The Cuban rookie had turned and was running at a full sprint toward the wall when the ball hit the palm of his glove and bounced off.
Francoeur scored on Humberto Quintana’s sacrifice fly.
Duffy made it hold up, with a little help from the Royals defense.
First baseman Hosmer made a sliding grab of Jemile Weeks’ foul ball in the first, then Lorenzo Cain chased down Daric Barton’s deep fly ball to center to start an 8-4-3 double play in the second.
Even when he had control problems in the fifth, walking a pair of batters, Duffy worked out of trouble by striking out Pennington to end the threat.
Duffy earned his first major league victory here on June 4 when he held the A’s to two runs over six innings, then won in Oakland again on Sept. 6.
Maier, who entered the game as an injury replacement for Cain, homered off Jerry Blevins in the seventh. Cain left the game with a strained left groin following his double play in the second.
Godfrey (0-1) allowed six hits in six innings.
NOTES: A’s RHP Joey Devine will miss the season after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery for the second time in three years. Devine was already on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. “In instances like this you don’t even consider what it means to the club,” Melvin said. “It’s all about him right now. There was a time (last year) when he was as good as anybody coming out of the bullpen.” … Melvin plans to rest LF Coco Crisp on Wednesday. … LHP Bruce Chen makes his second start of the season for the Royals on Wednesday after pitching six shutout innings against the Angels on opening day. … RHP Brandon McCarthy (0-1) pitches the series finale for the A’s, his third start in Oakland’s first seven games.
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