We got it last night. We got what we wanted. We saw Joe Kelly pitch once more in the fabled endeavor known colloquially as the Division Series.
He came in with a healthy lead—six runs, to be exact. But after weeks of wondering about his health, it was thrilling to see him hit 100 mph, and exhilarating to watch him mow his way through the heart of the Nationals’ order.
The outing didn’t start as we’d hoped. Trea Turner hit a routine ground ball into the perfect location, weaseling it down the third base line for a double. When Turner moved to third on Adam Eaton’s easy groundout to the right side, Kelly was left with no margin for error in his quest to start the offseason with a perfect ERA.
But as anyone who’s seen our hero pitch in the playoffs knows, no margin for error was necessary. MVP candidate Anthony Rendon? Struck him out with a changeup. Adolescent phenom Juan Soto? Well…watch this:
October has officially begun.
