CLEVELAND — Danny Duffy turned in the best pitching start of the young season for the Kansas City Royals, pacing them to their third win in their first four games.
The veteran left-hander tossed six scoreless innings and struck out five in his first start this season. The Royals bounced back from their first loss of the season to defeat the Cleveland Indians 3-0 at Progressive Field in the Indians’ home opener on Monday afternoon.
Whit Merrifield served as the one-stop shop for offense and the bane of Indians pitchers. Merrifield drove in the game’s only three runs, including a two-run home run in the second inning. He added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.
Of course, he’s not just picking on the Indians. He’s just been scorching hot. On Monday, Merrifield became the first Royals player to hit three or more home runs in his team’s first four games and the first to collect eight or more RBIs in his team’s first four games.
Merrifield now has three home runs and nine RBIs.
The Royals and Indians have a scheduled day off on Tuesday. They’ll wrap up their two-game set in Cleveland Wednesday.
