The Cubs stayed cold at the plate for most of the night, only getting three hits, struck out seven times over the six innings Ian Kennedy worked on Sunday. That brought on a 6-2 loss to the Royals at Sloan Park. "That's midseason stuff right there," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Kennedy. "He had everything going. He had a phenomenal slider tonight, spotted his fastball well, good changeup, excellent location, quick tempo. He was spectacular." (MLB).

Ian Kennedy hasn't let up a run in his three spring training starts. The only runs he has given up this year were in the World Baseball Classic.

He let two cross the plate on March 8 against Venezuela.

Limited Cubs' production behind the plate

The only real offense that the Cubs had against Ian Kennedy came in the fifth inning when their offense got a man on first and third with no outs. The next batter, Kris Bryant, was struck out, then Jason Heyward hit into an inning-ending double play. The power-hitting Cubs' shortstop Addison Russell hit his fifth home run in the spring games during the eighth inning. Addison is continuing to show his greatness behind the plate for a shortstop.

Ian Kennedy, Joakim Soria and Mike Minor all combined for 11 strikeouts against the Cubs in this game.

Pitching production

Mike Montgomery kicked off this game for the Cubs. In the first inning Mike Moustakas of the Royals hit a home run, starting the game off at 1-0. Mike followed by striking out five in his three innings of work. After the third, Brett Anderson came in, competing for that elusive fifth spot in the rotation against Montgomery.

The Cubs are still looking for some consistency in Brett. He pitched 3 1/3 innings, leaving with the bases loaded in the eighth. Jim Henderson was next in to stop the bleeding. The first batter Jim faced, he walked to force in a run. After an out, Chrisitan Colon hit a two-run single, bringing the Royals' lead to 6-0. The Cubs have let up an astounding amount of home runs in spring training with 25. Luckily, this is the time of year to make mistakes and work out any kinks.
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