Duffy Takes Over Team ERA Lead, #3 in MWL?

Duffy Sinks ERA to 2.35

DANNY DUFFY came away with an untidy line score but zero earned runs Wednesday night in Clinton, Iowa, and thus became his team’s leader in that statistical category.

With four more innings clean of earned runs Duffy sank his all-important Earned Run Average to 2.35, best among Burlington’s starting pitchers and equal to third best in the Class A Midwest League.

In a sloppy game against the Clinton Lumber Kings that was tied 10-10 after nine innings Duffy authored masterful innings in the first, third and fourth frames. The first and fourth went three-up-three-down and the third was marred only by a base on balls.

But oh the second inning.

Duffy retired, he thought, both of the first two hitters but the second batter struck out on a pitch which escaped to the screen. The overjoyed batter then dashed safely to first base.

An infield single placed runners on first and second. Duffy seemed to have retired the next batter on a ground ball to first base but a throw from first to third attempting to force the lead runner went wild, allowing the runner to take not only third but to score. If you are keeping track, that was the runner who reached base after striking out. The inning by all rights should have ended at this point with no score at all against Duffy…. But….. it didn’t.

A sacrifice fly (in effect the fourth out of the inning) scored a second unearned run and a double scored another before Duffy recorded a strikeout (fifth out of the inning) to finally end the bloodshed.

Ugly as it was, Duffy gave up only two hits, and struck out eight compared to two bases on balls. Statistically, it was another blue-chip performance.

Duffy now in 76 innings has allowed only 54 hits, one per inning being the norm, and just 20 earned runs. He has struck out 95, again one per inning being good, and walked just 24.

Duffy’s ERA of 2.35 would rank him #5 among starting pitchers in the MWL if he had enough innings to qualify. Of the four pitchers in the league with better ERA’s two have already been promoted to a higher circuit.

So …one COULD ARGUE (and we, being HOMERS, of course WILL argue) that Duffy is the No. 3 starting pitcher in the MWL.

Burlington is a Kansas City Royal farm team, Clinton a Texas Ranger affiliate.

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Elsewhere in the MWL CHRIS WHITE went 2-for-3 Tuesday night and notched a base hit in four trips Wednesday night for the West Michigan White Caps to lift his batting average to .286. White’s club is with the Detroit Tigers.