PHILADELPHIA
For 30 days in June, the Royals could not stop giving up home runs. The pace was basically daily. In the span of 28 games, a pitching staff allowed 51 homers, the baseballs soaring out of the park at a club-record rate. And despite that, despite the barreled-up fastballs and crushed breaking balls and tape-measure blasts, the Royals managed to survive the month with a 14-14 record.
On Friday night, they could wipe the slate clean as the calendar turned to July. Ian Kennedy took the mound on a picturesque night at Citizen Bank Park. The second pitch of July looked like a rerun of the last 30 days.