Paulo Orlando drove in a run with a second-inning single and Alex Gordon belted his fifth home run of the season in the ninth, providing all the scoring needed for Duffy and two relievers to turn things around against the A's after losses on the first two nights of the four-game series.

Duffy (3-6) allowed three hits and three walks in seven innings. He struck out 10, just the fifth time in his career that he's reached double figures.

The A's put two runners aboard on two occasions, both times at first and second with one out, but Duffy worked out of each jam by retiring the next two hitters.

The shutout was the Royals' fourth of the season -- the first since April 9 -- and was the first in a game started by Duffy since a 3-0 win over Tampa Bay in August 2016.

Kevin McCarthy threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning before Kelvin Herrera pitched around a two-out infield single by Matt Chapman in the ninth for his 14th save.

Duffy barely got the better of Bassitt (0-1), who was summoned from Triple-A for the first time since 2016 as an emergency replacement for injured Trevor Cahill.

Bassitt allowed one run and three hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out six.

The Royals opened the scoring in the second on Orlando's one-out single that followed a double by Ryan Goins. Orlando's hit was the last allowed by Bassitt, who retired the last nine batters he faced.

Gordon's homer came off the third A's pitcher, Yusmeiro Petit, with one out in the top of the ninth, giving the Kansas City bullpen a 2-0 cushion.

Goins' double and Gordon's homer were the only extra-base hits of the game. Both teams finished with four hits.

Chapman had three hits for the A's, who had begun a 10-game homestand with two straight wins. They had a three-game home winning streak snapped.

--Field Level Media