Ian Kennedy watches birth of daughter on FaceTime before making start

We have a trend here. Last week we heard about Mets left-hander Jon Niese, but now it’s Ian Kennedy’s turn. According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, Kennedy watched the birth of his daughter on FaceTime yesterday before allowing two runs over seven innings against the Marlins.

Kennedy’s wife, Allison, went into labor with their fourth child yesterday morning. He attempted to make it back to Southern California, but his flight from Miami was delayed due to inclement weather and his wife eventually just told him to stay and pitch. His daughter, Evelyn Nicole, was born just about two hours before the start of the game.

Kennedy allowed a two-run homer to Christian Yelich in the first inning, but held the Marlins off the board the rest of the way. The special day functioned as motivation for him.

“Giving up the homer helped shake it up a little bit,” he said. "[I thought], ‘Hey, I’m out here on a big league mound, you’ve got to step it up. What are you going to tell your daughter after you’re all done?’ It was just fun to pitch. Now I get to go home. I just want to hold her.”

Kennedy, who was among the many prominent names who remained with the Padres through Friday’s trade deadline, was scheduled to leave the team this morning to be with his family. He’s expected to return for his next start on Wednesday against the Brewers.

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