PHILADELPHIA _ The baseball had fallen softly to the turf. Danny Duffy had hauled his 6-foot-3 frame down the first-base line. And Eric Hosmer had crawled to the top of the dugout railing, flashing a hand signal toward the left-handed pitcher at first base.
As he stood inside the Royals dugout, Hosmer could not stop smiling. As Duffy stopped to ask first-base coach Rusty Kuntz to find the baseball, he couldn't stop smiling, either.
There are myriad ways to record your first major league hit. You can single through the infield or rope a double into the gap. If you are among the fortunate few, your first big league hit could end up a souvenir in the seats.
And then there is the way Duffy achieved his first hit on Saturday evening, an awkward swinging bunt in the top of the second that looped over the head of Phillies starter Aaron Nola and landed softly in the grass in front of shortstop Andres Blanco.
The baseball was struck perfectly, like a delicate lob web from just off the fringe. It elicited a rapturous response from the Royals' dugout and served as kindling in a 6-2 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.
Duffy's bunt single _ with one out and runners at the corners _ scored the Royals first run of the game and set the stage for a five-run second inning. Kendrys Morales, making his fourth straight start in right field, landed the knockout blow, crushing a three-run homer to right with two outs in the inning.
Morales would add another solo homer in the eighth, continuing his torrid stretch. In his last eight games, he has gone 19 for 31 with six homers and 13 RBIs.
But the night belonged to Duffy, who allowed two runs over 82/3 innings, one out away from the first complete game of his career. Instead, Duffy had to settle with logging at least eight innings for the third time in his career _ and second straight start.
The Royals improved to 43-37 and picked up a game on first-place Cleveland entering the final game of a three-game series on Sunday.
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