A trip to the minors didn't seem to help Ian Kennedy sort out his early struggles for the New York Yankees. A stint on the disabled list, meanwhile, has Alex Rodriguez feeling just fine.
Kennedy will try again for his first win of the season when he faces the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, one night after Rodriguez's offensive outburst helped end New York's longest losing streak of the season.
The Yankees (21-25) came into the season relying on two young starters to pitch effectively in the rotation, but with neither having won a game, it's no surprise that New York is still in last place in the AL East.
Phil Hughes went 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA before going on the disabled list, and Kennedy (0-3, 8.48 ERA) has been nearly as bad despite going 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in his first three big league starts last year.
After struggling in his first six outings of 2008 for New York, the 23-year-old Kennedy made two starts at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier this month, pitching 8 1-3 shutout innings and allowing two hits.
The right-hander, though, had problems again in his return to the majors, giving up five runs and two home runs in five innings of a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay last Thursday.
"He was OK, but he needs to do better," manager Joe Girardi said. "This is not the Ian Kennedy we all saw last year. We need to find a way to get him back there."
Rodriguez's return has been seamless since the reigning AL MVP's first stint on the DL since 2000. In two games, he's 4-for-7 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs, and he lost a third homer Wednesday because of a blown call. The Yankees still won 8-0 to end their four-game losing streak.
"We have a good offense. We're very confident. Our goal is to dominate every night," Rodriguez said.
While struggling offensively, New York allowed 23 runs in its previous two games, but unheralded Darrell Rasner again steadied the staff with seven shutout innings Wednesday. Joba Chamberlain, who has begun his transformation from setup man to starter, pitched the last two innings.
New York will now look to win consecutive games for the first time since a three-game sweep of Seattle from May 2-4.
The Orioles (24-21) haven't lost two in a row since their five-game skid from May 3-7, going 8-3 since. On Thursday, they'll try duplicate their offensive effort of Tuesday's 12-2 win in the series opener, when they scored double-digit runs for the first time this season.
They may have to do it without third baseman Melvin Mora, who left Wednesday's game with a finger injury after he was spiked by Hideki Matsui.
Brian Burres (4-4, 3.47) will take the ball for Baltimore. He had lost three consecutive starts before beating Washington 6-5 with 6 2-3 effective innings Saturday, allowing two runs and four hits.
Burres also beat Kennedy and the Yankees last month, pitching 5 2-3 innings in a 6-0 home victory April 19 as the Orioles took two of three in that series.
Kennedy was chased after 2 2-3 innings in the defeat, giving up four runs and five hits with five walks.
The Orioles are seeking their third victory in their last four series at Yankee Stadium.