Yesterday, all eyes were on Cole Hamels. Today, it’s Kyle Kendrick’s turn to impress. Hamels didn’t fair as well as the fans or media would have liked, especially with the bulls-eye on his back. With Kendrick, it’s somewhat different.
If Kendrick were to go five innings and walk four while striking out five, we might be able to find the positives in that. But for Cole, with his pedigree, that’s a sub-par performance. It will be exciting to see if KK can carry over his spectacular spring into the regular season. He became complacent after his early-career breakout, and floundered in the minors. Today, he’s regained his confidence and is now the Phillies third starter, albeit by default. However, a positive start can go a long way for a guy like Kendrick.
It should be expected that he will be nervous, and likely not a sharp as he should be in his first start. Still, it’s great to see Kyle back on the roster able to help his team in a time of need. Yeah, he’ll be back in the bullpen soon enough, but it’s certainly sweet knowing that there is a more than capable reliever/starter waiting in the wings should a problem arise. This afternoon, he can begin to rebuild his resume at the Major League level.
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