Ian Kennedy hurt in Royals’ 8-3 loss to White Sox

Ian Kennedy pressed his right foot against the carpet of the Royals clubhouse, attempting to show the source of the discomfort. He mimicked a pitcher pushing off a rubber. He pointed to the inside of his right thigh, where his hamstring had grabbed and pulled after one pitch in the fifth inning.

“Like cramping,” Kennedy said Thursday afternoon, a few minutes after an 8-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.

What had begun as a disappointing start, a rickety performance in a series finale, had turned more severe after Kennedy hurled a 92 mph fastball to White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu in the top of the fifth inning. As Kennedy released the ball, he felt a tweak in the back of his right leg. He hoped it would go away. But on the next pitch, which resulted in a fly-out to center field, Kennedy felt it again.

Moments later, Royals manager Ned Yost and head trainer Nick Kenney came scrambling onto the infield grass. Kennedy would be diagnosed with a Grade 1 right medial hamstring strain. He could be in danger of missing at least one start. Yet in the aftermath of the loss, Yost declined to speculate. Kennedy will be re-evaluated on Friday, Yost said.

“That’s their decision,” Kennedy said, speaking of Yost, Kenney and the Royals’ front office. “And when it comes down to it tomorrow, I’ll tell them how I feel. It doesn’t feel bad now. But we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”

In an 11-year career, Kennedy has rarely ventured to the disabled list, yet he is no stranger to hamstring issues. He missed 16 days after straining a hamstring in April 2015, while pitching in San Diego for the Padres. He battled the same injury last spring, though the only result was a Royals debut delayed by days.

If Kennedy lands on the 10-day disabled list, he would miss two turns through the rotation and be eligible to return on May 15. He could also be pushed back and perhaps just miss one start.

“We’re just evaluating it now,” Yost said, “what we’re going to do.”

Missing Kennedy for a week or more could represent a blow for a team trying to rebound from a dismal April, even after a mediocre performance on Thursday. Kennedy, who entered with a 2.30 ERA in five starts, allowed four earned runs across 4  1/3 innings on Thursday. He surrendered two mammoth homers in the first and second innings. He struggled to command his fastball and work ahead in the count.

“My fastball command was all over the place,” Kennedy said. “It was just a bad day.”

The Royals dropped to 9-18 overall and 2-10 in the American League Central, entering a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians on Friday night. They have buried the memory of a nine-game skid at the end of April, but they treaded water for most of the week, splitting a four-game series against the White Sox.

“It’s frustrating right now,” said Royals left fielder Alex Gordon. “But I believe we’re going to get out of this. I like our team. I like our chances. We’ve played awful, terrible offensively, and everything. But we’re only five or six games back. So there’s no reason to panic.”

To be precise, the Royals finished Thursday six games behind Cleveland and Chicago in the AL Central standings. Yet the latest performance — in front of a crowd of 36,525 on “School Day at the K” — did little to inspire optimism. The Royals offense struck for just three runs in 6  2/3 innings against White Sox starter Derek Holland. After Kennedy departed, the Royals got 1  2/3 scoreless innings from Mike Minor before Travis Wood allowed three runs across two innings, his ERA dropping to 14.04 in the process. Yes, his ERA went down.

The game, however, was lost in the early innings. Kennedy surrendered a booming two-run shot to Abreu in the first and a 452-foot blast to Matt Davidson in the second. The White Sox would tack on two runs in the fourth, killing a lively vibe during the annual School Day at the K.’

“I was missing my spots all over the place,” Kennedy said. “Fastball right down the middle to Abreu. Bad change-up to Davidson.”

And thus, from the first inning on, the shrieking and chanting of thousands of kids was mostly muted. The Royals’ offense came up empty against Holland. The nine-game losing streak is over, but the Royals did not make up any ground across four games against the White Sox.

White Sox 8, Royals 3

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Ian Kennedy hurt in Royals’ 8-3 loss to White Sox."