Danny Duffy pitches Royals to 6-2 win over Cardinals (Yahoo Sports)

There have been plenty of times over the years when Royals pitcher Danny Duffy would give up a first-inning home run, or fall into a big early hole, and it would cause everything else to slowly unravel. After serving up Matt Holliday's two-run shot in the first, Duffy settled in to go eight innings while striking out eight without a walk, sending Kansas City to a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a four-game, two-city series between cross-state rivals. ''I think no walks is more of a win for me than anything, outside of the team winning,'' said Duffy, who had gone eight innings just once before.