Kansas City Royals lose ace Danny Duffy to forearm strain after stellar start to year

The Kansas City Royals will go without their best starting pitcher this season, left-hander Danny Duffy, for at least the next week.

Duffy went on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 14 because of a left forearm flexor strain, the club announced on Monday. The Royals (18-22) will make a corresponding roster move prior to their game on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers (21-20) at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals announced left-hander Kris Bubic will start on Tuesday night and right-hander Brad Keller will start Wednesday. They’ll have a day off on Thursday before they begin a weekend series Friday against the Detroit Tigers at home.

Left-hander Mike Minor, who started on Saturday, and right-hander Brady Singer, who starts on Sunday, are also in the starting rotation. Jakob Junis made a spot start in the second game of last Friday’s doubleheader, but he’d been moved into the bullpen after injuries depleted the club’s depth.

Royals manager Mike Matheny said on Sunday that things were “moving in the right direction” for right-hander Kyle Zimmer to potentially return to the active roster after he began a minor-league rehab assignment last week with Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals optioned top pitching prospect Daniel Lynch to the minors last week after his first three starts in the majors.

Through seven starts this season, Duffy has a 4-3 record with a 1.94 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, a .222 opponent’s batting average, 48 strikeouts and 12 walks in 41 2/3 innings. He is in the final year of his current contract.

He entered the week with the seventh-best ERA among qualifying pitchers in the majors.

Through five starts, Duffy posted a 0.60 ERA. He allowed just two earned runs through his first five starts. He has turned in four quality starts, and he has pitched into the sixth inning or deeper in five of his six starts.

Duffy, 32, last pitched on Wednesday in Detroit against the Tigers. He allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings during a 4-2 loss.

Duffy moved into sixth place on the franchise’s career strikeout list April 19 against the Tampa Bay Rays. His 1,000th career strikeout pushed him past Tom Gordon and made him one of 16 active left-handers with 1,000 strikeouts.