After watching Joe Kelly salvage a shaky 2018 season by dominating in the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers moved to sign the right-hander during the winter. Kelly inked a three-year, $25 million contract in a deal that caught some by surprise.
The signing represented a chance for Kelly to pitch for his hometown team. However, his time with the Dodgers has gotten off to a rocky start. Kelly was envisioned as being a multi-faceted reliever who was capable of pitching in high-leverage situations.
Results pushed Kelly out of that role but he was back in it Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Kelly entered in the eighth inning of a tie game and allowed two runs to score before he could record three outs.
That was despite the ball never leaving the infield nor Anaheim ever registering a hit. The optics of Kelly’s appearance left plenty to be desired but he expressed confidence of not being far from pitching to better results, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Just execute, I guess. I mean, it’s not that far off. It probably looks worse than what it really is. I think it’s just execution. That was kind of a weird inning. Obviously the command wasn’t there, but, I guess it’s kind of harder to take if you don’t give yourself a chance. I’d rather guys hitting doubles off me or something. I try to get that first-pitch strike, and when I do is usually when I’m at my best.”
Kelly’s troubles in the opener of Freeway Series began immediately. He issued a four-pitch walk, bounced back with a strikeout but offset that with an errant pickoff throw, intentional walk, wild pitch and a pitch to the backstop.
A close play at the plate went against the Dodgers, and Kelly followed the fielder’s choice by throwing his third wild pitch of the inning, bringing in another run.
Prior to Monday, Kelly made eight consecutive appearances in games the Dodgers were ahead by at least five runs or trailing by a minimum of four. The streak began after Kelly inherited a three-run lead in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres on May 4, and proceeded to allow them to pull even.
On the season he’s 1-3 with a 7.59 ERA. Kelly has allowed at least two earned runs in five of his 22 appearances.
