Royals Report: 4 Things About Monday’s Return To Citi Field

4) Ian Kennedy Again Has Problems On The Road

Ian Kennedy lasted 4.0 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 earned runs, and 2 solo home runs. It wasn’t a terrible outing, but does reveal how vulnerable the fly ball pitcher Kennedy is away from the expansive dimensions of Kauffman Stadium.

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Monday’s performance continued a season-long trend in which Ian Kennedy has struggled on the road. Kennedy’s current home/road splits show a massive difference. Kennedy sports an impressive 2.35 ERA at home with 35 strikeouts in 31.0 innings pitched while giving up only 3 home runs. On the road, Kennedy’s ERA bloats to 5.44 with only 37 strikeouts in 46.1 innings, while allowing an outrageous 13 home runs.

That’s ridiculous.

While it’s certainly encouraging that Ian Kennedy is effective at Kauffman Stadium, he needs to improve on the road for him to become an effective long-term starter for the KC Royals. Let’s hope his recent troubles are a short-term artifact rather than a long-term problem.

If Kennedy can’t clean up his road performance, he’s nothing more than a no. 4 pitcher in the Kansas City Royals rotation.

By the way, Kennedy wasn’t worn down after four innings. Kennedy had only thrown 72 pitches and probably was good for two more inning. KC Royals manager Ned Yost pulled him for pinch hitter Kendrys Morales in the fifth inning with two runners on base and no outs.

Next: Ned Yost