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The Royals are sending Danny Duffy back out to start tonight against Seattle. I am always up for a Duffy start because the guy has genuinely good stuff. Control? Problematical, but the stuff is just fun to watch fly up there. It is the kind of arsenal that always makes you think that Duffy 'should be/could be/boy it would be fun if he was' a front of the rotation kind of starter.
It has yet to turn out that way.
We only need to look at the first inning of his first start of the year against Detroit last Saturday to get an example of a classic 'Duffy' inning:
- Rajai Davis falls behind Duffy one ball and two strikes, then: curveball for ball two, fastball fouled off, fastball fouled off, curveball fouled off before finally getting Davis to fly out on a fastball. Five pitches were expended after getting the second strike.
- Ian Kinsler falls behind Duffy one ball and two strikes, then: fastball for ball two, fastball fouled off, changeup for ball three, fastball fouled off before getting Kinsler to fly out on another fastball. Five pitches thrown after strike two.
- Miguel Cabrera, who is pretty good by the way, gets ahead two balls and a strike before Duffy gets him to foul off a fastball and then swing and miss for strike three. That's good pitching right there.
Swing percentages with two strikes:
Whiff rate with two strikes:
And finally batting average of opposing hitters by location with two strikes:
Make of them what you will. Game thread will be up about eight o'clock tonight. Everyone take a nap so you can enjoy the fun from Seattle.