Royals place LHP Danny Duffy on DL with sore elbow

CLEVELAND (AP) Kansas City Royals starter Danny Duffy will undergo an MRI after being placed on the disabled list with a sore elbow.

The left-hander was sent home Saturday to have medical tests on a condition that has bothered him for the past month. Duffy was scheduled to start Sunday's series finale, but the team wants to find out the cause of his soreness.

The Royals are confident Duffy's injury isn't serious.

''Anything that was concerning, we would have shut him down right from the get-go,'' Royals manager Ned Yost said. ''It got to the point where we needed to take a pause. He just pitched one of the best games he's pitched in a couple of weeks.''

In his last start, Duffy allowed two runs and one hit in six innings against Colorado. Overall, he's 8-8 with a 3.78 ERA in 21 starts.

The Royals are anxious to get Duffy back as they head into the heart of the playoff race. Kansas City entered Saturday's game trailing first-place Cleveland by seven games in the AL Central and was just 1 + games back in a jam-packed wild-card race.

Yost said Duffy did all he could to pitch through the discomfort.

''You don't want to rest your arm this time of the year,'' Yost said, ''and that's why he went five starts with a cranky elbow.''

Duffy missed a month earlier in the season with a strained right oblique.

Rookie left-hander Eric Skoglund will take Duffy's spot and make his fifth career start on Sunday. The Royals also purchased the contract of lefty Onelki Garcia from Triple-A Omaha.

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