Ian Kennedy delivers shutdown effort as Royals top Indians 7-0

In the midst of a victorious clubhouse, as a group of teammates took a spin on a Golden Tee arcade game and Alex Gordon plowed through a plate of chicken breasts, the Royals’ undisputed stopper emerged from the training room and moved across the room.

Ian Kennedy is 6 feet tall with a medium-sized build, a manicured red beard and a fastball that resides in the low 90s. In a room full of big-leaguers, he can offer a quiet persona, a finesse pitcher that shows up every five days and eats innings in clinical fashion.

But for the last two weeks, as the Royals slogged through an early-season rut, nobody has come up bigger than Kennedy. On Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field, he delivered another shutdown performance, throwing seven scoreless innings as the Royals rolled to a 7-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in front of 17,302 fans.

“Just what the doctor ordered,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Under an overcast sky, as the threat of a deeper slump loomed, the Royals steadied the ship. Kendrys Morales blasted a three-run homer in the first inning. Lorenzo Cain finished 2 for 5 and scored two runs. And the Royals improved to 15-14, avoiding their first day under .500 since July 2014. They claimed a much-needed road decision after losing eight of nine away from Kauffman Stadium. They can win their first series in four tries with Edinson Volquez on the mound on Sunday.

“We needed that,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said.

One night after starter Yordano Ventura melted down in the early innings, Kennedy was the personification of consistency, allowing just four hits while striking out six. He notched his team-leading fourth win of the season, improving to 4-2 while lowering his ERA to 2.13. After escaping an early jam in the first inning, he retired 14 straight Indians.

In the offseason, the Royals opened the coffers and invested $70 million and five years into the 31-year-old Kennedy. In the last week, the signing has been the most encouraging story line for a struggling club. Last Sunday, Kennedy helped stop a five-game losing streak by allowing just one run in five innings in a victory over the Seattle Mariners. On Saturday, he spun his finest outing of the season.

“It’s important,” Kennedy said. “We haven’t been playing well.”

For Kennedy, his strong start has quieted any doubts about the practical nature of his contract. A year ago, he finished 9-15 with a 4.28 ERA in 30 starts for the San Diego Padres. He battled through a hamstring injury for the first half of the season. He also pitched in front of one of the worst outfield defenses in baseball. Even after a strong finish during the second half, his season numbers were below league average. He entered free-agency with plenty of question marks.

This season, Kennedy is healthy again. And he has been reunited with Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland, who once worked with Kennedy as a young pitcher in the Yankees system. In the offseason, Eiland pored over film from last year, watching every pitch that Kennedy threw. As he watched the clips, Eiland detected a few mechanical issues, little stuff that would be easily fixable. To this point, the reunion of starter and pitching coach has been a unabashed success.

“It’s nice to get off to a good start,” Kennedy said. “I haven’t had the best start the last couple years.”

For the Royals, much of Saturday was about starting fast. Just hours after the club placed third baseman Mike Moustakas on the 15-day disabled list, the offense struck quickly against Indians starter Cody Anderson in the top of the first inning.

Anderson, 25, had begun the season in the Indians rotation before being optioned to Class AAA Columbus in late April. The Indians wanted Anderson to iron out some mechanical issues. He returned Saturday afternoon to face a beleaguered Royals offense. Morales greeted his arrival with a booming three-run homer into the seats in right field.

Cain had ignited the rally with a single to left field. Hosmer followed with a sharp single through the hole at second base. Up stepped Morales, who fell behind 0-2 on two change-ups. Perhaps Anderson should have stuck with the soft stuff. He unspooled a 91 mph cutter that moved toward the inside of the plate. The pitch found its way into Morales’ wheelhouse.

“It felt good off the bat,” Morales said, through translator Pedro Grifol.

Morales dropped his barrel on the baseball and cranked a 442-foot shot to deep right. It was his third homer of the season — and his first since April 11 at Houston. For once, the Royals had a lead in the first inning.

“The last week, it seems like every time we play the first inning, we’re down two or three runs,” Yost said. “So to be up two or three runs, the first time in a while, it was big.”

The Royals tacked on a fourth run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double from Jarrod Dyson. The extra-base hit scored Christian Colon from second base. It also snapped a 0-for-18 stretch for Dyson, who had not collected a hit since going 1 for 3 on April 27 in a 4-2 loss in Anaheim. Hosmer added an RBI double while finishing with two hits. The Royals’ offense finished with seven runs and 12 hits, an explosion of runs after scoring just 16 runs in their last 10 games.

In the moments after the game, the clubhouse was still full of life, the players in no rush to leave. After losing eight of 10 — and dropping to .500 for the first time since April 7 — the Royals responded with a vengeance. For another day, Kennedy took on the role of staff stopper.

“The way we’ve been going lately,” Hosmer said, “we really needed an outing like that.”

Royals 7, Indians 0

LOB: Kansas City 5, Cleveland 7. 2B: Hosmer (6), Dyson (3), Kipnis (6). HR: Morales (3), off Anderson. RBIs: Hosmer (13), Morales 4 (12), Cuthbert (1), Dyson (4). SB: Gordon (3), Davis (8).

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 3 (Cain, Perez, Colon); Cleveland 5 (Santana 3, Lindor 2). RISP: Kansas City 5 for 11; Cleveland 1 for 5. Runners moved up: Escobar. LIDP: Lindor. GIDP: Cain, Perez, Davis. DP: Kansas City 2 (Kennedy, Colon, Hosmer), (Hosmer, Escobar); Cleveland 2 (Kipnis, Lindor, Santana), (Kipnis, Lindor, Santana).

TableStyle: SP-basepitchersCCI Template: SP-basepitchers

Manship pitched to 4 batters in the 8th.

Inherited runners-scored: Chamberlain 1-0, Otero 2-1. WP: Anderson.

Umpires: Home, Ryan Blakney; First, Quinn Wolcott; Second, Mark Carlson; Third, Mike DiMuro. Time: 2:41. Att: 17,302.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Ian Kennedy delivers shutdown effort as Royals top Indians 7-0."