Kennedy drives KC after navigating hairy 1st

CLEVELAND — The Royals had just grabbed a three-run lead in the first inning — a rare lead for the Royals lately — and suddenly right-hander Ian Kennedy was staring at the potential tying run at the plate with one out in the bottom of the inning.

But before Royals fans could sigh, “Here we go again,” Kennedy struck out Cleveland’s Mike Napoli and got Carlos Santana to fly out, both with runners at the corners, en route to a 7-0 win on Saturday at Progressive Field.

“It was pretty important there to preserve the lead,” Kennedy said. “The boys had just gotten the lead and no one wanted to give it right back there. That was pretty big.”

From there, Kennedy cruised. At one point he retired 14 straight, and he finished with seven shutout innings. Kennedy gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six.

“Just what the doctor …

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