ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
All that stood between Danny Duffy and a shot at history was a 94 mph fastball in the bottom of the eighth inning. The baseball hung in the zone, spinning across the inner third of the strike zone. For once, the baseball did not go where Duffy commanded it to go.
Before outfielder Desmond Jennings roped a single into left field, Duffy was just six outs from becoming the first Royals pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Brett Saberhagen on Aug. 21, 1991. He settled, instead, for the best individual night of his six-year career.