The bases were loaded.
Nobody was out.
The Dodgers trailed the Nationals 5-0 in the top of the 9th inning.
Joe Kelly was on the mound.
Now, you could assign Kelly some of the blame for this situation. After all, Kelly was pitching when Michael Taylor led off the inning with a single to center. And Kelly was pitching when he himself couldn’t come up with a dribbler by Adrian Sanchez, allowing runners to reach first and second. And, yes, Kelly was pitching when Adam Eaton walked to load the bases.
But what that assignment ignores is that Max Muncy dropped a popup in foul territory to extend Taylor’s at-bat, and getting an out from the dribbler would have required a pretty nice play by Kelly, and walks are a part of life—they come and they go, and getting too angry at Joe Kelly for them is bad for a Dodgers fan’s blood pressure.
Whatever the case, Kelly got out of the mess, inducing two ground balls and a flyout. Taylor did score one unearned run, but the Dodgers weren’t coming back from that anyway. And through his Houdini act, Kelly reminded the world the escapes of which he is capable.
In sum, another strong performance by Joe Kelly.
