Royals’ Ian Kennedy broke another streak this week. His wife gave birth to a son

In the months before their fifth child was born, Royals starter Ian Kennedy and his wife, Allison, made a choice. They did not want to learn whether they were having a boy or girl until birth.

“We switched it up this time,” Kennedy said in August. “We’re not finding it out.”

The decision went a little deeper than you might think. When Allison was pregnant with each of their first four children, they learned beforehand, Kennedy said. They ended up with four girls.

Not that the Kennedys did not love their family as it was, or that the strategy would have any real effect, but after being severely outnumbered in his own household, Ian Kennedy said he was “praying” for son No. 1. On early Friday morning, he received good news.

The family welcomed their first son, Isaac Patrick Kennedy, at just past 6 a.m. He came at a convenient time, too. Kennedy had returned home to be with his wife and kids after the Royals concluded a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. On Saturday, he caught a flight in the afternoon and arrived back in Chicago in the evening. He will start on Sunday against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Kennedy battled shoulder fatigue and struggled for much of August and September. He allowed just two runs in five innings on Tuesday in a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays. It represented his first start in 11 days. He is scheduled to make one more start at home this season.

The Royals had discussed using a six-man rotation during the season’s final weeks. But Royals manager Yost opted to skip rookie Sam Gaviglio again and start rookie Jakob Junis on Monday at Yankee Stadium, a makeup game of a rainout on May 25.

The decision was made, in part, with a potential tie-breaker game and American League wild-card game in mind. The Royals, though, remain a significant long shot to reach the postseason after falling 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins on Friday. But as Yost set his rotation earlier this week, he said he had to plan accordingly.

For the moment, the Royals would be set to use right-hander Jason Hammel in a potential tie-breaker situation on the Monday after the season. Left-hander Danny Duffy would be positioned to start the wild-card game on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

Ian Kennedy, new Royals starting pitcher, balances family and baseball 

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Royals’ Ian Kennedy broke another streak this week. His wife gave birth to a son."