Kennedy takes another loss : Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy was pegged with his fourth consecutive loss during Saturday night's contest against the Royals. Kennedy, who was making his ninth start of the year, allowed six runs on eight hits on 4 1/3 innings in the 7-3 win, including a pair of home runs. Billy Butler ripped a two-run shot off the right-hander in the third inning before Mike Moustakas added a solo shot in the fourth. Kennedy was finally pulled after throwing just 83 pitches in the fifth inning and finished with three strikeouts and one walk, while falling to 3-4 on the year. "Kennedy got himself in bad counts and couldn't make a pitch to get out of it," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "Chen got into bad situations but he did a good job of getting out of it. He got behind and would throw a cutter or change and get out of it." (Updated 05/19/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/23/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Kennedy was hit hard again on Saturday night as the right-hander has now lost four straight starts. The 4 2/3 innings he logged against the Royals was his shortest outing of the season and he has now allowed six earned runs in two of his last four starts, increasing his ERA to 4.47 on the year. While the 27-year-old proved to be a high-end option last year, he clearly has some issues to work out before he makes his next start, which is scheduled for Friday against the Brewers. Kennedy is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three career starts against Milwaukee. Despite his recent losing streak, Kennedy should remain active in the majority of formats heading into his next start. (Updated 05/19/2012).
05/20/2012 19:47 Hit Parade for Week 8
Some catchers have been bitten by the injury bug in recent days, leaving some owners scrambling. Our Scott White shares some recommendations and helps set your lineups for Week 8 in his Hit Parade.
05/20/2012 08:36 Top 70 starters for Week 8
A lot to take into consideration before setting your pitching staffs for Fantasy Week 8. Our Al Melchior runs through his Top 70 starting options and has all the matchups.
05/15/2012 01:07 Dodgers top D-Backs, place Kemp on DL
Clayton Kershaw outpitched Ian Kennedy after exchanging brushback pitches with his fellow ace, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night without injured star Matt Kemp.
05/13/2012 23:32 The Lineup: A grand Mother's Day
All of baseball celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday. All of Cincinnati and Miami celebrated walk-off grand slams on Sunday.
05/13/2012 09:41 Top 70 starters for Week 7
A full slate of games in Fantasy Week 7, with seven games on tap for each team. Our Al Melchior breaks down the interleague implications and helps set your rotations in his SHuffling the Rotations.
In the span of a year, Ian Kennedy has gone from being a promising young starter to Cy Young contender. With 21 wins and an ERA under 3.00, Kennedy put up one of the best seasons for a starting pitcher in 2011, and improved control was largely responsible for his meteoric rise. Even though Kennedy pitched 28 more innings in 2011 than in 2010, he walked 15 fewer batters. He also gave up seven fewer home runs, but owners thinking about taking Kennedy within the first two or three rounds should consider that his home run trend could take an abrupt U-turn. Home run per fly ball ratios for pitchers can vary greatly from year to year, and Kennedy could have a difficult time maintaining a seven percent rate while pitching his home games in Chase Field. While his improvement was very much for real, owners should view Kennedy as a high-end No. 2 mixed league starter rather than as a rotation ace going into 2012. (Updated 1/9/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start