Ian Kennedy has rough outing as Royals get clobbered by the A's 16-0

In a series-opening 16-0 loss to the Athletics on Friday at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals never had a chance.

Starting pitcher Ian Kennedy only lasted three innings. He allowed seven hits, issued three walks and yielded eight runs. A’s first baseman Matt Olson barreled up a pair of high fastballs in consecutive innings to drive in four runs with two homers — the last of which scored three runs, landed in the right-center field fountains and traveled an estimated 456 feet. A’s rookie outfielder Dustin Fowler, who entered hitting .186 (8 for 43) against right-handed pitchers, tacked on a solo homer to cap a seven-run third inning for Oakland.

Fowler later crushed a three-run homer of his own off Royals reliever Jason Adam to extend the A's lead to 15-0 in the ninth. The A's scored seven times in that frame, too.

Olson and Fowler drove their home runs a combined 1,675 feet.

While Kennedy labored, A’s starter Frankie Montas breezed through eight scoreless innings. He allowed just seven hits, three of which Whit Merrifield knocked in extending his hitting streak to seven games.

The Royals grounded into three double plays, increasing their MLB-leading season total to 59.

A big inning: Six A's batters reached and scored in the third inning before Kennedy recorded the first out of the frame. He threw 46 pitches in the inning as Royals rookie pitcher Scott Barlow warmed up in the bullpen in a hurry.

In four of his last five starts, Kennedy has allowed five or more runs and struggled to chew up innings — he only made it more than five innings in a loss in St. Louis. Friday’s outing matched a season-low in innings.

"For the most part, it's been a grind the last four or five starts," Kennedy said.

"I felt like this was the best week of work I've had. I felt really good, really positive. ... But I had zero to show for it. That's what the really, really frustrating thing is. I felt good. Mentality's good, even with bases loaded and no outs. I thought I could maybe get a punch-out and a double play and minimize damage. (The result) was the complete opposite."

A silver lining: Barlow provided three innings in relief of Kennedy and struck out five batters for the second outing in a row. Before allowing three straight singles and a run in the sixth inning — his final frame — he had recorded 6 2/3 hitless innings since being recalled from Class AAA Omaha on Tuesday.

Up next: The Royals, who dropped to 20-37, send Jason Hammel to the mound for Saturday afternoon’s contest against former teammate Trevor Cahill. The 1:15 p.m. game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Kansas City.

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Ian Kennedy has rough outing as Royals get clobbered by the A's 16-0."