Ian Kennedy grows into a candidate to win 20

PHOENIX Ian Kennedy always considered 20 victories a nice, round number. Then he got older. "When you are a little kid, you think 20 games that's what the best guys do. You think that's possible. But then after you grow up a little bit and you realize how hard it is, it's kind of not a realistic goal," Kennedy said. It is certainly realistic now. Kennedy became the first National League to 19 victories with another clinical dissection in a 4-1 victory over San Diego on Thursday, and with three starts remaining can become the first D-back to 20 since Brandon Webb won 22 in 2008. It was the sort of outing that has put Kennedy among the short list of Cy Young contenders, with Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw and Philadelphia's three-headed monster Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. Kennedy had a season-high 11 strikeouts, one short of his career high, in 7 23 innings, and did not walk a batter in 101 pitches. He was replaced after giving up three singles and the Padres' lone run in the eighth, a half-inning after he was hit by a pitch and scored a run in a two-run seventh that gave the D-backs a 4-0 lead. San Diego manager Bud Black, who had his own Cy Young candidate in Mat Latos last season, has seen Kennedy beat the Padres twice in 11 days and three times since July 27. He is 5-0 with a 2.01 ERA against San Diego since joining the D-backs in 2010. "There is no doubt he has come into his own this year. He is pitching with a hell of a lot of confidence right now and he is truly pitching. Hate to see it from the opposition side, but there is a reason why he has 19 wins," Black said. Kennedy dropped his ERA to 2.90 it has not been lower since his second start of the season while surpassing his career highs in innings (202) and strikeouts (178) in helping the D-backs gain a half-game on idle San Francisco to increase their NL West lead to a season-high 7 games. The D-backs also got within one game in the loss column of Milwaukee in the race for home field advantage in the playoffs, and they would win a tiebreaker based on a 4-3 advantage in the season series. Do not think they are not paying attention. The way things stand now, the No. 2 qualifier in the National League will have home field advantage in a first-round playoff series against Atlanta, the likely wild card. No. 3 qualifier will meet Philadelphia in a series that starts in Philly. "We're not just going to try to attain a playoff berth and let our guard down. That's just the first thing we're after," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "We're after home field advantage if we can get that, and then beyond. All the way." Kennedy brought the D-backs closer with 22nd quality start, tied for second in the league with Halladay, Kershaw and Hamels, one behind San Francisco's Matt Cain. The backbone of the rotation and model of consistency as the D-backs have pulled away down the stretch, Kennedy has made quality starts in 11 of his last 12 appearances. In the other one, he was pulled after giving up three runs in three innings because of two-hour, 17-minute rain delay Aug. 18 in Philadelphia. Kennedy worked off his fastball early and used both his changeup and curveball as effective counters as the game went on. He struck out five in a row in the fifth and sixth innings, two on changes, two on curves and one on a fastball. Both curves were called third strikes. "He was exceptional," Gibson said. Kennedy was a rookie with the New York Yankees when he watched Mike Mussina, who has 270 career victories, finally have a 20-win season. Mussina did it at age 39, and he did not reach 20 until he beat Boston in his final start of the year. "I appreciate how hard it is, because he had a great career. He told me how hard it was. You just try to throw quality games," Kennedy said. Closer J.J. Putz got his 38th save with a scoreless ninth; the reconstituted D-backs' bullpen has saved 13 of Kennedy's 19 victories, with Putz, David Hernandez and Joe Paterson chipping in at least once. "I can lean on them a little bit. It's the difference between getting a no-decision and a win," he said Justin Upton and Paul Goldschmidt homered for the first two D-backs runs, before Upton was forced to leave for a pinch-runner in the bottom of the seventh inning with a head cold brought out by the travel and inclement weather during a recent stop in Colorado. Upton's homer, his 29th and third in four games, was measured at 433 feet and made it 2-0 in the sixth. "I was just making sure I didn't have to sprint anywhere," he said with a smile. Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter