Royals 7, Athletics 4
Rookie Danny Duffy allowed two runs on four hits in six innings to earn his first major league victory as the Kansas City Royals continued their hot play on the road with a 7-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
Duffy (1-2), one of the Royals’ top pitching prospects, had failed to earn his first win in his previous five starts, but pitched well Tuesday. He struck out four and escaped several jams to drop Oakland to 1-13 in its last 14 games.
The Royals are 9-17 on the road, but have won four of their last five games away from home.
Leading 2-1, the Royals took control of the game in the fifth against Oakland starter Trevor Cahill (6-5) with a two-run double by Billy Butler. Cahill walked seven hitters in 4 1/3 innings and hasn’t won since May 9.
Rookie Eric Hosmer added an RBI single in the eighth and Joakim Soria earned his 10th save with a scoreless ninth.
The Athletics rallied in the eighth when they sent eight hitters to the plate, but could only manage two runs and fell to 1-4 under new manager Bob Melvin.