A starting pitcher’s day turns into a debacle in little moments. A mistake here, a balk there, a tweak of the muscle here, a series of errant pitches piling up until the stress keeps building and the center cannot hold.
This was Ian Kennedy on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, a starting pitcher careening out of control in the early innings, the collapse coming in an 8-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
The final image of Kennedy came in the top of the fifth inning as he grimaced on the mound, grabbed at his right leg and called for the Royals’ training staff.