Giants quickly batter Kendrick in rout of Phillies

The quickest hook of this charmless season came in its 107th game, when Kyle Kendrick stared into the dugout after his 58th pitch. There was Charlie Manuel, climbing the stairs. A smattering of cheers greeted him.

No Phillies starter had thrown fewer pitches than Kendrick before removal. A 9-2 defeat to San Francisco was rendered with haste. The irrelevant baseball was brutal. Of greater concern: Kendrick's effectiveness has depreciated with this team's.

He threw the first pitch at 7:07 p.m. His night was complete at 7:58. The Giants bashed him for seven runs (six earned) in two innings.

Kendrick spent Tuesday with his wife, Stephenie, who gave birth to the couple's second child, a boy, in the afternoon.

"I'm not going to make an excuse at all," Kendrick said. "I would never change that for the world. It was awesome. I just have to make better pitches. That's what it comes down to. They found some holes. It was a frustrating night."

His season has decayed since a complete-game victory June 3 in Miami. His ERA is 5.93 in his last 10 starts. He has pitched at least seven innings in just three of those games.

"It definitely wasn't his night," Manuel said. "Everything they hit fell."

The damage Wednesday manifested in the form of singles. San Francisco slashed four in the first after a Marco Scutaro double. Roger Kieschnick, a 26-year-old rookie making his major-league debut, capped the first-inning damage with an RBI single.

It continued in the third, when Kendrick's night abruptly ended. The Phillies signed Kendrick, 28, to a two-year, $7.5 million contract two springs ago. He remains under the team's control for 2014 because of one final arbitration year. He could command a salary near $8 million next season.

The team has invested $56 million (calculated by average annual value) in Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez for its 2014 rotation. They are interested in a reunion with Roy Halladay, who is expected to pitch before this season ends, but that is dependent on various factors.

They are likely to tender Kendrick a contract because even if they do not retain him, he would carry trade value this winter. The way Ruben Amaro Jr. values starting pitching, it is conceivable that his top four starters each earn at least $8 million in salary.

Kendrick's final two months of 2012 guaranteed him a rotation spot in 2013. He is not yet fighting for a job, but he must leave another sterling impression to conclude this season.