BOSTON _ As the final homer landed in the seats above the iconic Green Monster, Danny Duffy turned his head toward catcher Salvador Perez and let out a torturous smile.
As Boston's Hanley Ramirez circled the bases and an old ballpark began to rock, Duffy raised his glove in the air and called for a new baseball, shaking his head from side to side. The moment toed the line between resignation and disbelief. For a second, he knew nothing else to do.
Saturday night at Fenway Park was supposed to be a duel, a matchup between the emerging ace of the Royals and the tested excellence of Boston's David Price. What we received instead was a blowout, an unexpected bludgeoning at the hands of a dangerous Red Sox lineup.
The Red Sox raked Duffy for seven runs and nine hits in five innings, handing him his first loss since June 6. Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia collected four hits in his first four at-bats, piecing together a streak of 11 hits in 11 at-bats before grounding into a double play in the bottom of the eighth. The Royals absorbed an 8-3 loss as Boston evened the series at one game apiece.
By the end, Duffy had surrendered three homers, including a first-inning shot to Xander Bogaerts and back-to-back shots from Mookie Betts and Ramirez. The final two homers were towering fly balls that sailed over the Green Monster, traveling 349 feet and 342 feet, respectively. The second one drew a smile from Duffy, yet it did not obscure reality: This wasn't the left-hander who had silenced the American League for much of the second half.
Duffy, in fact, had not allowed seven runs in a game since Aug. 16, 2011, when he yielded eight in three innings in a loss to the New York Yankees.
The Royals (67-62) lost for just the fourth time in 20 games and remained three games out of a playoff spot. From that respect, it was a lost opportunity.
Hours earlier, on Saturday afternoon, a collection of Royals lounged on couches inside a cramped Fenway Park clubhouse. As a clubhouse television showed the New York Yankees finishing off a blowout victory over the Baltimore Orioles, Duffy dribbled a soccer ball around the room while wearing a Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey. Duffy crossed between the legs and mimed a left-handed jump shot. A few moments later, he disappeared from sight.
The Orioles' loss on Saturday afternoon meant the Royals were just 2{ games out of the second American League wild-card spot as Price took the mound in the top of the first inning. With a victory here, Kansas City would have climbed to within two games of a playoff spot for the first time since June 21. The Red Sox's offense made sure that didn't happen.
Perez recorded the second two-homer game of his career, depositing two baseballs over the Green Monster in left field. The two solo shots accounted nearly all of the Kansas City offense.
The Royals managed just two runs against Price, who scattered five hits over seven innings. For stretches, Price appeared vulnerable, giving up lots of hard contact in the first and second innings. But the veteran left-hander settled in during the middle innings.
Perez clubbed his first homer in the second, slicing a 2-0 deficit in half. Moments later, Shortstop Alcides Escobar drilled a double to left-center, scoring Alex Gordon from second.
The burst tied the game at 2-2. A half-inning later, the Red Sox seized control for good.
