KANSAS CITY, Mo. Josh Rosen Youth Jersey . -- Danny Duffy walked briskly to the mound to start the seventh inning Saturday night, ready to throw his first warm-up pitch before anybody else on his team had even taken the field. The Royals left-hander was in that kind of rhythm. Duffy went on to retire the next two batters he faced before Baltimores Adam Jones finally ended his bid for a perfect game with a single up the middle. Still, it was the best outing of his career, and came on a night when the Kansas Citys scuffling offence needed it. Billy Butler drove in the only run in the first inning in the 1-0 win over the Orioles. "I started to feel it in the seventh a little bit," Duffy said of his tantalizing perfect bid, "but I didnt think about it because my job is to get outs." Others started to think about it, though. "You keep thinking, Boy, hes got really good stuff," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who was ejected during a tense ninth inning. "He gets through the fourth and the fifth and into the sixth and you think, Boy, hes got really, really good stuff." Duffy gave up a single to Nelson Cruz to start the eighth, but Wade Davis retired the next three batters. All-Star close Greg Holland allow a hit and two walks to load the bases with two outs in the ninth, then calmly struck out Cruz for his 11th save of the season. "We found a way to get back in it in the ninth and had the right guys at the plate," said Orioles bench coach John Russell, who was acting manager as Buck Showalter attended his daughters graduation. "We scraped and scrapped. We still found a way to make it interesting." Bud Norris (2-4) was the hard-luck loser, allowing four hits and a walk in 7 1-3 innings. The lone run he allowed came in the first, when Nori Aoki led off with a single, stole second and then scored on Butlers single to centre. The hit ended a 0-for-10 slump, and gave Kansas City only its second run in the first three games of the four-game set. "The story of the day is about Duffy. That was unbelievable," Butler said. "That gives you a glimpse of what he could be like every time out." Duffy missed most of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he began this season in the bullpen after losing the competition for a rotation spot in spring training. But he was forced back into the rotation a few weeks ago, when Bruce Chen landed on the disabled list with a back injury, and has pitched so well that he may have claimed the spot for good. After struggling with control most of his first three seasons, Duffy has finally started to harness his stuff. He allowed one run on two hits in four innings in his first start May 3 against Detroit, and one run on two hits in six innings last week in Seattle. He wound up losing both games when the Royals failed to score a run for him. Perhaps with that in mind, Duffy kept the Orioles off the scoreboard entirely. He never got close to allowing a hit until Caleb Joseph hit a liner at third baseman Mike Moustakas to end the sixth inning, and Alex Gordon made a spectacular diving catch on Nick Markakiss flyball to lead off the seventh. Duffy then struck out Manny Machado before Jones delivered his single. "I heard somebody say this is the type for, like, a perfect game," said the Orioles Caleb Joseph. "Right after that, somebody said, Jonesy is about to rip one right here." The crowd gave Duffy a standing ovation after the hit, and then another when he exited the game. Duffy sheepishly waved his cap in appreciation as he entered the dugout. "I was just trying to stay calm," Duuffy said. "Mechanics will come through on their own if you trust your stuff, you dont overdo anything. And we were on the attack all day." NOTES: Jones has a 12-game hitting streak. ... The Royals have had four no-hitters in their history, the last by Brett Saberhagen against the White Sox on Aug. 26, 1991. The Orioles have not been no-hit since Sept. 1, 2007, when Clay Buchholz accomplished the feat for Boston. ... Royals RHP James Shields and Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez start Sundays series finale. Christian Wilkins Youth Jersey . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami. Nat Moore Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Cameron-Wake-Jersey/ . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards.RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Montreal Canadiens needed a little time to get up to speed in their final game before the Olympic break. When they did, they left behind the Carolina Hurricanes. David Desharnais scored twice and the Canadiens rallied for a 4-1 victory Saturday night. "We had a little slump a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to get out of it," Desharnais said. "We did and we want to stay up in the standings and with these three wins, we did. That was our goal." Ryan White and Brian Gionta also scored and Carey Price made 31 saves to help the Canadiens win their third in a row. "It was nice to finish before the break with another win," said Price, set to play for Canada in the Olympics. "We talked about staying focused and earning that one and it worked out for us. Confidence in hockey is a big thing and to finish strong like this is good," Montreal left wing Max Pacioretty, a member of the U.S. team, suffered a first-period injury after being checked into the goal by Carolinas Brett Bellemore. He left with 7:30 left in the first period and did not return. After the game, Pacioretty said it was all precautionary for his to sit out the rest of the game. "I went in pretty hard and I got the wind knocked out of me," Pacioretty said. "I think the team wanted to play it safe and I think it was a good decision." After a scoreless first period, Carolina got on the scoreboard first in the second period. Drayson Bowman sccored his fourth goal of the season with a rising shot from the top of the right circle at 5:42. Dan Marino Dolphins Jersey. Bowman took advantage of Tuomo Ruutus screen that kept Price from making a play on the puck. But the rest of the game belonged to the Canadiens. "We responded the right way," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "Even though they scored the first goal, we started playing well." Desharnais tied it with 2:08 left in the second, converting a 3-on-2 rush. It took only 1:25 for Montreal to take the lead as White scored on a rebound at the top of the crease with 42.7 seconds left in the period. Desharnais gave Montreal some breathing room early in the third period with his 11th goal of the season. It marked his first multi-goal game of the season. Gionta finished the scoring for Montreal with an empty-netter with 2:37 to go. Carolina defenceman Justin Faulk said the Hurricanes didnt play with energy. "We didnt have the drive and the effort we needed," said Faulk, who also is on the U.S. Olympic team. "In a game like this, especially before the break, we needed to leave it all out there. It didnt go our way." Neither team took advantage of their power-play opportunities. Montreal was 0 for 1 with the man-advantage, and Carolina failed on two power plays. NOTES: Carolina C Riley Nash extended his point streak to a career-best three games. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk matched his season-best points total with 22, picking up an assist. ' ' '