A pitcher held a team scoreless through six-plus innings at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night and received a standing ovation when he walked off the mound in the seventh inning.
He was not wearing a Royals uniform, though his past might have led him to.
Yet many in the announced crowd of 27,883, which was for a second consecutive night skewed in favor of the visiting Chicago Cubs, climbed to their feet to applaud left-hander Mike Montgomery as he strode into the third-base dugout.
Although he wasn’t one of those cheering for Montgomery in public, Royals pitcher Danny Duffy admired his fellow left-hander in the home clubhouse after the Royals lost 5-0.