Royals Report: 3 Things About Game 1 Win vs. Red Sox

1) Ian Kennedy Was Painting The Corners

Ian Kennedy struck out nine in 5.2 innings, including multiple called strikeouts. Kennedy was putting his fastball on the black all game, and it was live. The pitch tended to tail back over the plate to right handed hitter to shave the outside corner.

The Red Sox managed to score two runs against a pitcher with his best stuff, which is a testament to how well the Boston lineup has been hitting over the last few weeks.

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Kennedy very much earned the win even though Brian Flynn got the credit. He had to work himself out of a jam in the fourth inning, when he gave up three straight hits to open the frame. The Red Sox had plated one run and had runners at the corners with no outs before Kennedy struck out the side.

Left fielder Chris Young slammed a solo home run to lead off the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, and Kennedy escaped the inning when Alcides Escobar made a great play on a hard grounder deep into the hole with a runner on third.

The Red Sox forced Ian Kennedy to use 116 pitches just to get 2/3 of the way through the sixth inning, which prevented him from earning a quality start.

No matter. It was still a good day for Kennedy.

Next: The Defense