NEW YORK _ Inside the clubhouse, they call him Boni. The nickname is pronounced like Bonnie, and, yes, it is not overly creative. It is the first four letters of Jorge Bonifacio's last name, shortened and altered, and for now, that will do. For in the first 27 games of his young career, the 23-year-old Bonifacio has offered more substance than style.
On Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, Bonifacio clubbed his fifth homer in sixth days as the Royals bombarded the Bronx in a 6-2 victory. The offensive attack blasted four homers and erased a 2-0 deficit. The late display of power _ all coming after the start of the seventh inning _ helped even the series at 1-1 with two games to play.
The Royals (19-26) inched back toward .500 as starter Danny Duffy allowed just two runs across seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.92.
Facing the prospect of a fourth loss in five days, a beleaguered lineup dusted itself off after six quiet innings and put on an audacious fireworks show in the late innings. Yet the most momentous swing belonged to Bonifacio, who turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead with a two-run blast against Yankees reliever Adam Warren in the top of the seventh.
The Royals, of course, were expecting a corner outfielder named Jorge to add some pop to the lineup in 2017. But perhaps they were expecting it to be Jorge Soler, a marquee offseason acquisition, and not Bonifacio, who now has six homers since being called up from Class AAA Omaha on April 21.
The late onslaught offered a lifeline to Duffy, who beat the Yankees for the second time in less than a week. Five days earlier, Duffy had thrown seven scoreless innings against these same Yankees, carrying the Royals to a 5-1 victory on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. He struck out a season-high 10 batters. He racked up nine of the strikeouts on biting sliders.
All season, Duffy had pieced together solid outings, but one season after setting a career high with 188 strikeouts in 1792/3 innings, he had lost the ability to finish off hitters. In his previous seven starts, he had averaged just 3.9 strikeouts per outing. So in the days before his last start, he headed to the bullpen and worked on a tweak with pitching coach Dave Eiland.
For the most part, Duffy has remained mum on the specifics. But the mechanical adjustment focused on the action and the consistency of his slider, he said.
"I found something," Duffy said.
In his last start against the Yankees, his first since polishing up the alteration, Duffy faced 26 batters and threw 12 first-pitch sliders. His swagger appeared to be back.
On Tuesday, Duffy carried the confidence into Yankee Stadium. He finished with seven strikeouts while allowing just six hits and three walks. The Yankees' only runs came on solo homers from Aaron Hicks and Chris Carter. The formula was sufficient.
In the early moments Tuesday, the outcome looked far more in doubt. For six innings, the Royals had squared up baseballs against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery with little to show for it. Mike Moustakas hit two baseballs harder than 101 mph and collected two outs. Bonifacio took Montgomery to the wall in right center. Two other pitches were hit at least 99 mph. But it wasn't until Lorenzo Cain belted a solo homer off Montgomery in the seventh that the floodgates began to buckle.
Bonifacio would follow with his two-run blast to snatch the lead. Whit Merrifield would line his fifth homer of the season onto the short porch in right field. Moustakas would record his 11th homer on a two-run shot that stayed fair inside the right-field foul pole.
Just like that, the Royals had taken control.
