Kendrick, a 24-year-old right-hander, is vying to be the No. 5 starter in the Phillies' rotation. But he is losing the battle, just as he lost his spot in the rotation last September, because he hasn't honed a secondary pitch, namely a changeup that he has been working to develop.

Anointed as a slight favorite to win the No. 5 spot before spring training, Kendrick allowed eight runs on 10 hits, including two home runs by catcher Clint Sammons, in a 12-10 loss to the Braves on March 11. Kendrick appears to be trailing both rookie lefty J.A. Happ and veteran right-hander Chan Ho Park in the fifth-starter competition.

"It's easier to get up here than it is to stay up here," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "To stay up here, you have to be able to make adjustments and change your game a little bit. You don't want to go away from your strength, but you need to be able to adjust when hitters adjust to you."

For most of the past two seasons, Kendrick relied primarily on his sinker. But when he began to get hit last season, Dubee criticized him for being a one-trick pony and tried helping him to develop his changeup. Dubee said he hasn't seen enough improvement to believe the changeup will be an effective pitch for Kendrick.

"I threw some good (changeups)," Kendrick said after getting pounded by the Braves. "I threw some bad ones, too. No excuses, nothing. I made mistakes, and they hit them. What are you going to do?"

If Kendrick is going to win the No. 5 starter job, Dubee needs to see him pitch better.

"The last two years, left-handers hit .330 off him," Dubee said. "Wins are one thing, and we don't forget about those at all. But sometimes you've got to put up a bunch of zeros to win a game, too. You've got to win that 3-1 game or 4-0 game. You've got to be able to pitch road games and get us deep into games, and he needs those secondary pitches. I don't know when that day will happen."