Kendrick will miss the Phillies

Kyle Kendrick has already looked at the upcoming schedule.

He will not pitch in any of the four games the Phillies will play at Coors Field this week. And, barring a rainout or schedule change, he said his turn in the Colorado Rockies rotation won't come up when the two teams meet up again at Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series that begins a week from Friday.

"I definitely wanted to pitch against these guys," Kendrick said.

The 30-year-old Kendrick, a 7th round pick by the Phillies in 2003, spent his entire professional career with the organization until this winter, when he became a free agent. He signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Rockies in early February.

"Would I would have liked to come back? Yeah, why not," Kendrick said Monday afternoon in the Rockies clubhouse. "It's the only place I know. But I was also excited to go somewhere else. These guys were interested - very interested. You always want to be somewhere you're wanted. That was the main thing. Philly didn't want me, and these guys wanted me. That's the way it worked out."

Kendrick knew he'd be moving on fairly early into the offseason.

"(General manager) Ruben (Amaro Jr.) called me about a week after the season and said we're going to go in a different direction, we're going to go younger," Kendrick said, "and then he signs Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams. So I was like, (huh). That's the way it is. Honestly I think it's just part of the game and wanted some different faces. That's the way it goes."

Kendrick, who helped the Phillies reach the postseason for the first time in 14 years as a rookie 2007, went 20-26 with a 4.65 ERA in his final two seasons in Philadelphia. His transition to Colorado has been a bumpy one.

Kendrick has a 6.70 ERA after eight starts with the Rockies; it's the highest ERA among 109 qualifying big league pitchers in 2015.

"Besides Opening Day, April was not good," said Kendrick, who threw seven shutout innings in his Rockies debut and then allowed six runs or more in five of his next six starts. "Probably one of the worst months of my career honestly - I think it was. So, that was April. The last two starts I've been throwing the ball good. I'm (trying) to build off that. We've still got a long season left. Hopefully finish strong and forget about April. I didn't start off well. But that's in the past. I just have to keep grinding."

Kendrick held the Dodgers to one run on three hits in seven innings of the Rockies 1-0 loss at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.