Ever since late March earlier this year, the Red Sox have been playing as a team in every aspect of the game. You can name a handful (or two handfuls) of players who played key roles in the team’s 108-win regular season and another handful of players who have played key roles in their total October domination. My favorite thing about this particular team, if I had to choose just one, would be how the entire 25-man roster contributes meaningfully to the team game in and game out. It’s spectacular and honestly, refreshing.
Regardless, it is finally late October and the big boys have really come out to play. Yes, as of right now, there are only two World Series games in the books, but nobody has been more important in these two games than Joe Kelly. Through two games, Kelly has pitched two perfect innings: 14 pitches for 11 strikes in Game 1, and 11 pitches for 8 strikes in Game 2. That’s 76 percent strikes. Against this Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. Given, the bottom of the lineup, but still. In the World Series. !!!!!!!!!
Kelly pitched the sixth inning in Game 1 with a 5-3 lead, facing Matt Kemp, Kike Hernandez and Yasiel Puig. Kelly got Kemp to swing and miss at two overpowering fastballs in a row to record the K, struck out Hernandez on three pitches, including a changeup which the batter swung and missed on, and got Puig to ground out to first to quickly end the inning.
In Game 2, Cora gave Kelly the ball in the seventh inning and managed even more efficient work on the back end of the Dodgers’ lineup this time around with three fewer pitches. Kelly was given yet another two-run lead to work with in his second appearance of the series and kept it, once again. Kelly punched out Max Muncy to start the inning, getting him to swing and miss on two breaking balls in the zone and a 98 MPH fastball to sit him down. Three. Swinging. Strikes. Puig grounded out once more, seeing two high-90s fastballs in the at-bat and Yasmani Grandal quickly got behind in the count 0-2, two breaking balls for strikes, and sat looking for a 100 MPH fastball. SPOILER: he did not see a 100 MPH fastball; instead, another curveball that Kelly absolutely painted.
In my opinion, Game 2 was Kelly’s best postseason performance this year, out of many great postseason performances this October. Each time he’s been given the ball this month, he’s improved in some way from his prior appearance. You can tell he’s throwing and locating each pitch he throws with absolute care and is completely focused on accuracy. Wherever the catcher places his glove, Kelly throws it without forcing him to move even an inch either way. Since 2014, we’ve all grown accustomed to Kelly missing his spots. It’s a breath of fresh air to see him all of a sudden get his shit together on the biggest stage in sports.
Kelly had an unhinged roller coaster ride of a regular season this year. He kicked things off by decimating Tyler Austin’s face with his knuckles, thus forming the Joe Kelly Fight Club and winning over the region of New England in a matter of seconds. The moment the calendar flipped from May to June, he turned into an absolute bum. He was the textbook definition of a liability and was one of the main reasons why Boston’s bullpen has been talked about the way it’s been for months now and questioned the way it was coming into the playoffs. When Joe Kelly sucked, the majority of the rest of the bullpen arms sucked. Now, in October, Joe Kelly looks like Josh Hader (minus the racist tweets…) for the Sox and in turn, the rest of the bullpen is virtually unhittable. It is absurd that I’m saying this, but Joseph Kelly, number fifty-six for the Boston Red Stockings, is this bullpen’s anchor.
Call me crazy, but it feels like Kelly is turning his career around with each of these appearances. His fastball is as fast as ever, but this month, it’s more accurate than ever. He’s developed a reliable curveball which has completely transformed himself as a major league arm. He only ever relied solely on his fastball that has been a wild pitch for him throughout his career; at some point, he was going to be forced to learn how to successfully utilize his secondary pitches to save his career. There’s no better time to save your career than in the month of October. I must say, I do feel all tingly each time Kelly throws a breaking ball for a strike and fools a Los Angeles Dodger in the batter’s box.
Getting ahead of batters, limiting walks and throwing your secondary pitches for strikes is essential to maintaining a career as a Major League pitcher. It feels like Kelly has finally found a way to achieve all of these things and I have a feeling that because of this, we’ll see him pitch in every game in Los Angeles in the coming days.
Who woulda thunk: Joe Kelly is the next best bullpen option after Craig Kimbrel. In the year of two thousand eighteen. Welcome to October, folks.
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