The Royals finally had something positive happen in this ominous 2012 season Wednesday night, when they won in Cleveland, 8-2. So, naturally, that had to be balanced out by some bad news.

And here it is: Danny Duffy -- a promising young left-hander who has been one of the Royals' two good starting pitchers this season -- will have his scheduled start skipped Friday due to elbow tightness, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

The options to take Duffy's turn in Minnesota Friday are Everett Teaford, Nate Adcock or Vin Mazzaro.

Duffy, 23, is off to a respectable start to the 2012 season. He has a 3.63 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. The Royals have only scored eight runs total for him in his three starts, so he's 1-2. Of course, that's not bad on a 4-14 team.

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