Joe Kelly pitched last night. On his birthday. Which is pretty fun. Struck one dude out. Walked one dude. Hit 98 a couple times on zero days of rest. All fun stuff. His ERA’s down to 6.55 now, which is under seven which means we can talk about it, and his FIP’s at 4.33 and his xERA’s at 4.43, so we can definitely talk about those and about how they show how unlucky he’s been, which diverts from the fact that they’re mediocre but come on guys he’s coming back from serious shoulder surgery (a cyst or cysts on his nerve that sounds science fiction/horror-y) give him a break. He’s also now exceeded last year’s innings total, so how’s that for his 33-year-old season? Guy just keeps getting younger. Only thirty more innings for him to pass 2016 as well.
Best part? He relieved his friend David Price (not a euphemism he just came in to pitch after Price pitched). And I like to think Price said happy birthday to him on the way out, even though it wasn’t a mid-inning switch.
