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Twins, Royals close series at Kauffman

Aug 7, 2013 - 2:48 PM (Sports Network) - Lefty Danny Duffy makes his first big-league appearance of the season and 27th of his young career when the Kansas City Royals host the Minnesota Twins to wrap up a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

A third-round selection of the Royals in 2007, Duffy debuted in the majors in 2011 and won four of 12 decisions across 20 starts with a 5.64 earned run average.

He returned for six starts in 2012 and split four decisions while allowing 13 runs and striking out 28 batters across 27 2/3 innings, surrendering an opposition batting average of .252.

The 24-year-old Californian split the early portion of 2013 between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, going a combined 3-2 in 14 appearances (12 starts) with a 4.14 ERA.

He dropped his lone career meeting with the Twins after allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings.

For Minnesota, red-hot Dominican righty Samuel Deduno aims for a fourth win in his last five starts.

The 30-year-old was 4-4 on the season after a 7-4 loss at Tampa Bay on July 8, but has since won three times and gotten one no-decision while allowing just five runs in 27 innings.

He was a 3-1 winner over the Royals, improving his career record against them to 3-0 on June 27, when he tossed seven innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory.

In 19 1/3 career innings against Kansas City, Deduno has allowed just two runs and has held Royals batters to a .217 average.

On Tuesday, Andrew Albers pitched into the ninth inning in his major league debut and Brian Dozier went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI to lead the Twins over the Royals, 7-0.

Albers (1-0) allowed just four hits, struck out two and walked just one over 8 1/3 innings of work, as the Twins rebounded from a 13-0 loss in the opener to win for the fourth time in five outings.

Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer and Chris Colabello had two hits, including a home run, and scored two runs for the Twins.

Kansas City starter James Shields (6-8) suffered the loss as his home struggles continue. The right-hander was tagged for seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks in six innings.

Eric Hosmer ended 2-for-3 for Kansas City, which had a modest three-game winning streak end and lost for just the second time in 14 games.

The Royals won 10 of the first 13 games between the teams in 2013.