At this point, hitless innings are the norm for Joe Kelly.
In only one of his six July outings has he allowed any hits, and he’s averaging a strikeout and a half per appearance over the same stretch. He isn’t even walking many guys anymore, with just two, total, on the month.
Last night was more of the same. The Dodgers’ bullpen was a bit rattled after Tuesday night’s happenings. It was stretched thin thanks to a prolonged early-inning rain delay. It had a four-run lead, but the heart of the Phillies’ order was coming up, with Scott Kingery, Bryce Harper, and Rhys Hoskins set to bat.
Now, in case you don’t follow the Phillies, please note that Scott Kingery is having a really good year. I was unaware of this, but it’s true. He’s breaking out. There’s probably a young Phillies blogger out there calling him a future hall-of-famer as part of his largely unnoticed Phillies takes. And in case you don’t follow baseball, please note that Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins are two of the best hitters in the game. Again, this took some confirming, because Harper’s been relatively quiet so far in 2019, but it is true as well.
So what did Dave Roberts do?
Why, he called on Joe Kelly, of course.
And true to (recent) form, our hero delivered.
Throwing almost exclusively knuckle-curves, Kelly induced groundouts from Kingery and Hoskins, striking Bryce Harper out on three pitches in between. Neither groundball was hit particularly well, and the flamethrower did throw flames, touching 100 mph on both fastballs he delivered.
The season ERA (5.13) is so close to dropping below 5.00 that one more scoreless inning would do it. And, as you know, since Joe Kelly Bobblehead Night that ERA is almost invisible: 0.75.
Joe Kelly reigns.
