Joe Kelly flashed the brilliance last night that so many of us have been craving to see again, throwing a scoreless sixth inning while allowing only one hit and striking out one.
In the seventh, though, he allowed Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun to single (both of them singled—so there were two individual singles, not one joint single) before a Jesus Aguilar double brought home a run and sent Kelly back to the dugout.
Still, thanks to Scott Alexander being a good teammate and avenging Kelly’s allowed run, our hero’s ERA dropped over the course of the outing, receding all the way to a respectable 12.27.
Now, if you read this blog because you’re a Joe Kelly fan—one who fell in love with him in St. Louis, when he was defending our country’s honor against those who wanted to leave the field as soon as the Anthem was done; or one who learned to appreciate his craft in Boston, when he was hanging out in the outfield seats during a suspension; or one who just has always had that small, internal voice so many of us have calling softly: “Love him. Love Joe Kelly. Love him.”—you might be feeling down about our guy right now.
Have no fear.
Here’s what’s working in our favor:
- Joe Kelly’s getting paid so much that there’s no way the Dodgers send him down or DFA him unless things get really bad.
- Joe Kelly still throws hard.
- Joe Kelly is still handsome.
- Joe Kelly has us on his side, and we’re not going anywhere.
Stay strong, fellow Joe Kelly fanatics.
