We asked this morning whether Joe Kelly and Alex Bregman might fight today. Before we go any further: They did not fight. In case you didn’t gather that from the headline. It didn’t happen.
For a moment there, though…
The scene had set up nearly perfectly. The Dodgers led 5–2 entering the bottom of the eighth. Due up for Houston were Joey Loperfido, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman. Los Angeles still had two or three pitchers available after Joe Kelly. The Astros had just thrown a pitch up and in on Gavin Lux, and Gavin Lux had stared angrily at the mound, presumably sick of pitches up and in after Ronel Blanco hit him yesterday. (That hit by pitch was the incident which led Joe Kelly to call either Blanco or Bregman a “pussy.”)
Having studied Joe Kelly since 2018, I’m not sure there’s been a higher probability of a Joe Kelly fight over these last six years, three months, and 17 days than there was in today’s eighth inning. All Kelly had to do was get through Loperfido (not on the team back in the day) and Altuve (too small to try to fight, that would be mean), and he’d be facing Bregman with a three-run cushion, first base open, and two outs. Ideally, the Dodgers would be up by more runs and Yordan Alvarez wouldn’t be waiting on deck, so this was not a perfect storm. Pretty good storm, though, and if I might make this about myself for a minute, an actual storm did pop up at this moment at the Astros bar in Austin where I was watching the game. Ominous, to say the least. (MLB TV blacks out Astros broadcasts in Austin. I blame Jerry Reinsdorf.)
Alas.
After Kelly struck out Loperfido, Altuve doubled off the wall. And right as we were asking ourselves whether it’d be worth it for Joe Kelly to bring the tying run to the plate, solely for the sake of closure, Bregman lined out to Cavan Biggio at first. (Yeah, Biggio back in Houston! Fun weekend.)
The moment was over.
Soon, the inning was too.
On the seventh pitch to Alvarez, Kelly induced a lazy fly ball into left field, and the ballgame moved to the ninth. A few minutes later, the Dodgers had secured a 6–2 victory, with Joe Kelly credited with the hold.
Was this Joe Kelly’s final trip to Houston? The possibility is real. He’s year-to-year with the Dodgers and has openly floated the idea of retirement, and the Dodgers/Astros series is in California next year. Unless the legendary right-hander signs on with the Angels or does something even more unexpected, this might have been it, barring a World Series clash.
If this was it, what a legacy to leave.
Houston fans showed off quite the booing performance as their nemesis entered the game. The noise rivaled that of the ballpark last night after Bregman’s walk-off home run. Do Astros fans care more about Joe Kelly than they care about their own team? The evidence is there. And in that, Joe Kelly achieves his ultimate victory. The 1.59 career postseason ERA against these dorks is nice. Owning a second home inside every Astros fan’s brain is nicer. Joe Kelly doesn’t need to shut these guys down in order to own them. But today, in what might have been the final trip he ever makes to Minute Maid Park, he did that too.
Long live Joe Kelly.
Condolences to the good ones in Houston.
Can confirm, the biggest reaction/loudest moment of Sunday’s game from the fan side was when Joe Kelly came out.