SOX ON DECK: Ian Kennedy Bests Charlie Zink

How close is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right-hander Ian Kennedy to earning another trip to New York?

This close if Sunday’s performance against the Pawtucket Red Sox was any indication.

Kennedy, who made his seventh start after completing a rehab stint with Tampa, clamped down on the team that leads the International League in runs scored and is second in home runs as the Yankees left town with a split of the two-game series by beating the PawSox, 5-2.

Other than a soft, second inning run, the only time Pawtucket roughed up Kennedy was in the seventh when Gil Velazquez homered.

Kennedy (4-2) allowed six hits and one walk over seven innings, fanned six, and threw 67 of 96 pitches for strikes.

“I’ve always felt Pawtucket is, in my opinion, the best-hitting team in the league,” manager Dave Miley said. “He went out and did what we needed him to do, obviously, and what he probably needed to do himself. It was a quality start.

“They sent him down to work on some things and he’s been working with ‘Chavy’ (pitching coach Rafael Chaves).”

Things like what?

“Lately, I’ve been working on my off-speed pitches,” Kennedy said. “Early in the year (when he was with New York), I didn’t have my changeup. Now, it’s just ironing some things out mechanically and going after hitters a little more.

“Mechanics-wise, Chavy and I have worked on a lot of little things. In my last four starts, I’m really seeing it a lot.”

Over his last four starts, including Sunday’s, Kennedy is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA, 14 hits allowed, five walks, and 20 strikeouts.

Now, contrast Kennedy’s performance with that of Darrell Rasner, who’s been scuffling in New York’s rotation.

Even though he earned a no-decision in New York’s 14-9 victory over the Angels, Rasner allowed five earned runs on seven hits over four innings. As a result, his overall totals include a 5-8 record, a 5.22 ERA, and 102 hits allowed in 82-and-two-thirds innings.

Kennedy, who was placed on New York’s DL on May 28 with a strained lat muscle, felt his rehab time at Tampa was beneficial in more ways than one.

“When I was in Tampa, I forgot about it,” he said. “It actually was kind of good. I got to clear my head a little bit. Andy Pettitte always says get your mind right. I got my mind right and focused on the right things, and it’s working out so far.

“It’s a matter of getting ahead of guys and attacking hitters and staying with your plan. Otherwise, when you start throwing balls, then your plan changes.”

Pawtucket grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second.

Dusty Brown led with a double, advanced to third on Jeff Corsaletti’s long flyball to center, and scored on Josh Wilson’s bloop single over a drawn-in infield—a hit shortstop Cody Ransom would have caught if had he been playing at normal depth.

The Yankees clipped Charlie Zink (13-4) for two runs in the third on RBI hits by Matt Carson (double) and Juan Miranda (single).

Ben Broussard belted a solo homer in the fourth for a 3-1 lead, and the Yankees tagged Lincoln Holdzkom for two runs in the ninth (one on Ransom’s sacrifice fly).

“He doesn’t throw extremely hard, but he freezes guys,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson, whose team now leads the Yankees by a half-game in the North Division. “He keeps them off-balance.”