Kennedy may land on DL with hamstring strain
Right-hander leaves in third inning during season debut
SAN DIEGO -- There's a strong possibility Padres pitcher Ian Kennedy will land on the disabled list after he strained his left hamstring in Thursday's home opener against the Giants, a 1-0 loss in 12 innings.
Kennedy left his start with one out in the third inning after misfiring high on a pitch to Nori Aoki. But he said he initially suffered the injury the previous inning making a pitch to Joaquin Arias with two outs.
"I just felt something grab and [in the third inning] I could feel it slowly and slowly getting tighter," he said.
Kennedy left the game after 33 pitches, having allowed two hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. He was replaced by reliever Odrisamer Despaigne, who retired all 14 hitters he faced.
"This could be a possible disabled list [stint]. It's a mild hamstring strain. Those are tricky. Our doctors have looked at him," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Ian is a pitcher who uses his legs a great deal. It was affecting him through his warmups. We decided to make that move."
Kennedy hasn't had much of an injury history, as he's been on the disabled list once since 2009, and that was for a cut finger. Last season, Kennedy made 33 starts and led the team with 201 innings.
"It's frustrating, I was feeling pretty good," Kennedy said. "But I needed to stop. I wasn't pitching with the same effort because I was trying to protect [the hamstring]."
Black said that if a disabled list stint is needed, Despaigne will slide into Kennedy's spot in the team's starting rotation when it rolls around on Tuesday at home against the D-backs.