KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The best part, Royals manager Ned Yost says, is the consistency.
Danny Duffy has always had talent, though in earlier seasons, that was never a guarantee for success.
Yost said Friday afternoon that he believed Duffy had "turned the corner" this season, and the latest example came a few hours later in the Royals' 3-1 victory over Texas on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Duffy once again delivered for a beleaguered rotation, going 62/3 innings while allowing only one run.
"You've got a pretty good idea of what you're going to see on a nightly basis when he steps on that mound," Yost said in his office before the game. "He's going to be on the attack. He's going to throw strikes with good stuff."
That was the case Friday, as Duffy continued an impressive stretch with his four-strikeout, two-walk effort. It was the fifth straight start he'd gone at least six innings, with the Royals going 5-0 in those games.
A day after President Barack Obama lauded their "That's what speed do" mantra during a White House ceremony, the Royals also scratched out three runs against Yu Darvish with help from their running game.
After a leadoff single in the first, Alcides Escobar moved to second on a steal then to third on a throwing error by catcher Bobby Wilson, giving the Royals an unearned run following an Eric Hosmer RBI groundout.
Alex Gordon followed with his fifth swipe this season in the second, later scoring on a Whit Merrifield single.
Cheslor Cuthbert added a 413-foot home run to center in the third, as the Royals made the most of their contact against a sharp Darvish. The right-hander struck out 11 _ tying the Rangers' best mark this season _ with one walk in six innings.
Two years to the day that Raul Ibanez gathered a famous team meeting in Chicago _ helping to spur the Royals from a 48-50 record to a World Series appearance _ KC picked up an important win considering the circumstances. The team pushed its record to 48-47, avoiding its first drop below .500 since May 15.
Every victory in late July also could help convince the front office to avoid selling certain pieces at the Aug. 1 trade deadline to rebuild for a run in 2017. Most projection systems put the Royals' playoff chances in the 3- to 5-percent range, meaning the team could realistically be buyers or sellers depending on the results of the next nine days.
The Rangers' only run came in the third, as Rougned Odor sent a high-arcing a 419-foot home run into the Outfield Plaza seats above the Rangers' bullpen in right.
Duffy's only other trouble came in the seventh when a Ryan Rua one-out walk and Nomar Mazara single put runners on the corners with two outs. Yost summoned Luke Hochevar in the high-leverage situation, and he was able to escape with a 3-1 lead after pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland lined out deep to right.
Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis followed with scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, improving the Royals' record to 37-1 in games they lead after seven innings.
Duffy, meanwhile, improved his ERA to 3.17 since joining the rotation on May 15. In that stretch, he's struck out 84 and walked 15.
"You have a basic idea of what you're going to get now," Yost said, "where before, you knew he had great stuff, but you weren't quite sure what you were going to get."
