For the Yankees, it’s three straight unimpressive games. For Ian Kennedy, it’s been nearly all unimpressive games.
Kennedy was hammered again last night, serving up four runs in 42/3 innings as the Yankees were swept by the Tigers 8-4 in The Bronx. The Yanks look ugly and uninspiring. They have lost three straight for the third time in two weeks.
Kennedy, who got a no-decision, is winless this year and has allowed 22 earned runs in 232/3 innings. Want the ERA? Try 8.37. The question now is if he’ll be back to pitch in four days.
It sounds like there’s a good chance he won’t.
In Kennedy’s five starts (he also has one relief outing), he’s gone past five innings just once, and last night Joe Girardi said that the 23-year-old is “not giving us the distance that we need.”
“We don’t need a fifth starter as much in May as we did in April,” Girardi said, “so we have to figure out what is the best plan for Ian Kennedy.”
The Yankees are off Monday, one of three off days this month, and they should be able to go through the rotation using their fifth starter just three times the rest of May. The next time they need one is next Saturday, so Kennedy would seem to have a good chance of being skipped or perhaps demoted.
Kennedy said he doesn’t think a trip to the minors is the answer.
“I don’t think that would help,” he said.
Without Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, the Yanks also failed to produce more than five runs for the seventh straight game. Nice job by a $200 million-plus team.
“Their lineup will break loose any moment now,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
Bobby Abreu put the Yankees ahead with his first-inning, three-run homer, but the Yanks managed just one run the rest. Detroit broke a 4-4 tie with Ramon Santiago’s two-run triple off Jonathan Albaladejo in the sixth, and Miguel Cabrera’s two-run homer off him in the seventh provided the final margin.
After opening with two hitless innings, Kennedy got torched in the third. Santiago blooped a one-out double, and a wild pitch and RBI groundout cut it to 3-1. Placido Polanco doubled, Gary Sheffield walked and Magglio Ordonez drilled a game-tying two-run double. Cabrera then blasted an RBI triple to put Detroit ahead.
Tigers 8 Yankees 4