Royals’ Ian Kennedy successfully walking a tightrope in closer role

The bullpen seemed like a foreign place and a strange idea back in spring training. After all, Ian Kennedy’s most-recent bullpen stint before this season came 10 years earlier.

Now with more than a half season under his belt, outings like Tuesday night’s save in a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park in Atlanta aren’t so uncommon. Kennedy stranded the tying run on third and the winning run on first have become a walk in the park.

The Braves, leaders in the National League East, entered the night with the second-most wins in the NL.

“It’s a lot of fun playing on the road against playoff-contention teams,” Kennedy said. “A lot of the guys are seeing that, so it’s a lot of fun. It gets your adrenaline going even more than it already is when you give up three singles to start off the ninth inning.”

At this point in the season, it must be a free and easy outing, much more comfortable experience. Right?

“I can’t say it is,” Kennedy said with a chuckle. “I’ve pitched so long that you have innings where you’re like I’ve been through this before. I’ve started off an inning with first and second and nobody out before in a tough situation where it’s a critical part of the game — especially as starter late in the sixth, seventh or eighth inning — and you’ve got to get through it.

“You kind of reach back on those memories, and so far I’ve already had a couple of those outings. It’s a lot easier when you go 1-2-3. It happens quick and you don’t get the crowd into it as much.”

Kennedy allowed a run and gave up three hits in the ninth. The tying run reached third with one out, but Kennedy got an infield pop-up and struck out the final batter of the game, Austin Riley, with a 96 mile per hour fastball.

Kennedy started 85 games for the Royals after having previously started in New York, Arizona and San Diego.

When he first addressed the possibility of moving to the bullpen during spring training, one of his early sentiments was that the closer role would be much more appealing than pitching in the middle innings.

“It’s a lot of fun, but it’s stressful,” Kennedy said. “It’s a lot of fun just because that’s what we play for. When I think about pitching the ninth or pitching in a big league game, that’s what you dream about as a kid in the backyard playing wiffle ball against your buddies.”

Kennedy now has 18 saves this season. His seven since the All-Star break are the most in the majors. Since May 30, he’s 16 of 17 in save opportunities. He went 8-for-8 in save chances in June, the first time a Royals reliever has gone 8-for-8 in one month since Kelvin Herrera in August 2016.

Additions

Royals starting pitcher Jakob Junis has been placed on the Paternity List, and right-handed reliever Jake Newberry has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha.

Junis, who did not travel with the team to Atlanta, is scheduled to start on Friday against the Indians in Kansas City. His wife, Brie, gave birth to the couples third child, a son named Jett, on Tuesday night.

The Royals will take advantage of the extra pitcher up until having to make a roster move prior to Junis’ start. Newberry also provides needed depth with Mike Montgomery making just his second start of the season on Thursday. Montgomery isn’t stretched out, so his pitch limit will be 60-65 pitches. The Bullpen will pick up the slack from there, and Newberry gives them an added option.

Happy Anniversary

Wednesday marked the 36th anniversary of the infamous “Pine Tar Game” between the Royals and the New York Yankees. Hall of Famer and Royals third baseman George Brett’s two-run home run off Goose Gossage with two outs in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium put the Royals ahead 5-4, but Yankees manager Billy Martin point out to umpires that Brett’s bat had an excessive amount of pine tar on it, and Brett was called out.

Brett burst out of the dugout and argued vehemently. The Royals protested the game and American League president Lee McPhail ultimately ordered the game be restarted from the point after Brett’s home run. The Royals won the game 5-4.

None of the current Royals were alive at the time of the incident, which grabbed national attention. The oldest current Royals player, Alex Gordon, is 35.