SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Forty-six pitches across four innings isn’t something Royals starter Danny Duffy is going to complain about -- even if it means he had to finish his outing in a bullpen to increase his pitch count to what it was supposed to be at Monday afternoon.
“It’s a good feeling to have that problem, to have to go out and finish getting your pitch count higher,” Duffy said. “It’s always a good problem to have. I don’t pay attention to the results, but when you throw 46 pitches in four innings, it’s a win.”
Despite it being Spring Training, it was hard to ignore the results Duffy had in the Royals’ 6-1 win over the Giants at Surprise Stadium on Monday. The left-hander pitched four perfect innings in his fourth outing of the spring. He struck out four, and while he had some hard-hit balls that were saved because of the Royals’ outfield defense, Duffy looked near his best Monday.
“Fantastic,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Stuff looked great. Mixed it up well. … I thought that was as good as what we’ve seen from Danny in a while, so it was a good day for him.”
Duffy’s fastball command was working Monday, which meant he was able to mix in his offspeed pitches well. In his last outing against the Mariners, when he allowed five runs in three innings, he called his slider “slop.” On Monday, he was able to use it as an out pitch for the first time this spring. He’s still working on the consistency of the slider, as well as executing his changeup to lefties, which he hasn’t been able to do much of this spring.
But the efficiency of his outing against the Giants was a positive takeaway on Monday.
“It’s obviously important to get quick outs,” Duffy said. “I was able to get -- I had a couple of good sinkers that I threw to righties today that they either mishit or hit right at people. And there were a couple of balls that were hit pretty well, one of them being a changeup to a lefty that just about left the yard. Still trying to work to harness that and get that down to where I need to get it, and that’s why we throw it out here. That’s why we’re doing it. It was quick, it was efficient, and I got through it.”
Benintendi scratched
Andrew Benintendi felt some lower back soreness on Monday morning, prompting the Royals to take him out of the lineup. The Royals aren’t concerned with Benintendi’s health; the left fielder has been taking a lot of swings, which can lead to soreness this early in spring. He’ll take advantage of a day or two off, just as outfielder Michael A. Taylor did late last week before getting back into the lineup on Monday.
In Benintendi’s place on Monday was Bubba Starling, who hit a first-pitch grand slam on Sunday night against the Dodgers and followed with a first-inning home run on Monday. The Kansas City native and former first-round Draft pick is a non-roster invite this year fighting for a spot on the Royals’ bench at some point this season, especially with what he brings as a defensive replacement.
“Times like [Sunday and Monday], Bubba gets the chance to show us what he has the potential to do offensively,” Matheny said. “And we are very, very confident -- this guy’s an elite defender for any team in any league. He’s just really very good out there. We just have to look at the health of the club as we get down to the end.”
Worth noting
• The Royals made three more roster moves Monday morning, optioning infielders Kelvin Gutierrez and Lucius Fox, as well as outfielder Nick Heath, to Triple-A Omaha. There are now 42 players in Major League camp, including 13 non-roster invites.
• Right-hander Brad Keller is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against the Mariners at Surprise Stadium, and lefty Mike Minor is scheduled for Wednesday’s game against the A’s.
• The Royals are 12-3 in Cactus League play after Monday’s win, marking their best start since at least 2015, when the World Series championship team went 11-3 in its first 14 games.