The scene was bleak. A bone spur had forced Clayton Kershaw out of the game. The Dodgers only led by two, and there were eight more innings to play. It was going to be a long night for the bullpen.
Enter: Joe Kelly.
Was it Joe Kelly’s best outing? I think he would tell you no. He wasn’t sharp, and while he got out of the situation he inherited in the second, he did let Arizona tie it in the third. The haters are out. The haters are chirping. The haters, as usual, don’t know shit.
Two things:
First, the guy stepped up and covered more outs than you can reasonably ask a Joe Kelly to cover. In the face of uncertainty, Joe Kelly stepped into the breach. You think this didn’t empower the Dodgers? You think this didn’t tell the rest of the Dodger bullpen it was time to step up and pitch beyond themselves? You think the Dodgers win last night’s game without Joe Kelly?
Second, there are major 2018 Boston vibes right now in Los Angeles. Good team. Scuffling Joe Kelly filling every role they ask him to fill. That year, there were calls to keep Joe Kelly off the postseason roster. But if there’s no Joe Kelly available in a playoff game, who empowers the bullpen when the bullpen needs empowering?
In 2018, the Dodgers learned the value of October Joe. The guy’s a winner. The guy wins World Series. It’s what he does. If the Dodgers want to do that, they know where to turn. That’s probably why Dave Roberts called up his bullpen ace last night when he did.
Spot on. He looked like he was ready to fall over when he balked in a run…25 other guys watched someone truly take one for the team and it set the tone for both the relievers and the offense. They don’t win that game without Mariachi Joe stepping up when the bat phone went off.