KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Danny Duffy leaned over at the waist and stared at the ground, his body still for a full three seconds. A baseball had just buzzed past Duffy in the top of the fifth on Sunday afternoon, an RBI single by nemesis Carlos Santana.
It had missed his glove by mere inches and broken a scoreless tie, and now Duffy stood still, letting the frustration marinate. He looked at the ground. He sucked in a breath of air. Perhaps he knew what the single run signified.
In a 1-0 loss the Cleveland Indians, Duffy was nicked for just one run in 6 2/3 innings, rebounding from consecutive subpar efforts.
Duffy arrived at the ballpark Sunday morning with his dog, Sadie, in tow, shepherding the Husky breed into the clubhouse. He would battle for the next three hours as the Royals paid tribute to the Negro Leagues on "Dressed to the Nines" Day. For his trouble, he was tagged with another loss when the Royals' offense managed just one hit against Indians starter Mike Clevinger and a squadron of relief arms.
One day after losing a late 1-0 lead, the Royals dropped the series against the defending American League champions, falling to 3-12 in their division.
Clevinger, 26, was making his first start of the season, filling in for injured ace Corey Kluber, whose balky lower back forced him to the disabled list on Wednesday. Clevinger had posted a 1.50 ERA in six starts for Class AAA Columbus. On Sunday, he limited the Royals to just one hit while striking out five and walking four in 5 2/3 innings.
The Royals squandered their best scoring opportunity in the fourth inning. First baseman Eric Hosmer drew a one-out walk. Catcher Salvador Perez placed a double just inside the left-field line. Hosmer cruised into third base. The offense had two runners in scoring position with one out. The Indians' infield played back, conceding at least one run on a ground ball.
The ground ball never came. Clevinger froze Jorge Soler on a biting 2-2 curveball. He then struck out Jorge Bonifacio on a 3-2 curveball, ending the threat.
The Indians would take a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning. Yan Gomes opened the inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Santana fell behind 0-2 before clubbing a 1-2 fastball into center field.
Santana, who had a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning Saturday night, finished 3 for 4 and continued his mastery of Duffy.
The Royals (10-20) dropped to a season-high 10 games under .500 as their offense languished for another afternoon. After 30 games, Kansas City has scored a major-league worst 82 runs. The Royals have been shut out four times and scored two runs or fewer in 15 games.
In all, they are on pace to score 443 runs in 162 games, which would be 167 runs fewer than the 2016 Phillies, the worst offense in baseball last season.
