Kennedy moved to 5-13 for the season after tossing five innings of one-run ball in the Royals' 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks on Friday. Kennedy conceded four hits and one walk and struck out seven.

EDGE Analysis

Kennedy was cruising along nicely through five frames, but due to the team's expanded bullpen in September, manager Ned Yost elected to pull the starter with his pitch count at 86 for the evening. It's nonetheless a strong end to what's been a troubling season for Kennedy, whose 5.38 ERA is his worst mark in any campaign in which he's tossed at least 40 innings. A 5.65 FIP suggests that Kennedy's poor ERA wasn't merely a case of bad luck, as he also saw his strikeout rate dip below 8.0 K/9 for the first time since 2010. It looks quite possible that Kennedy could be settling into the decline phase of his career, a troubling development for the Royals with the 32-year-old right-hander still under contract for three more seasons.