Kelly (2-0, 5.28 ERA) came back with a vengeance. Arguably baseball's best pitcher down the stretch last year rediscovered his groove, tossing 6 1/3 hitless innings and leaving with a shoutout. The Sox held on for a 9-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.
Kelly took the mound in the top of the first. Rajai Davis grounded out, Jason Kipnis grounded out and Fransisco Lindor grounded out in short order. Good work Joe. The Indians counterpart Trevor Bauer was equally tough in the bottom of the first. Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out, Dustin Pedroia flied out and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Mike Napoli struck out to open the top of the second inning. Carlos Santana grounded out and Marlon Byrd struck out to end the inning. David Ortiz led off the top of the second with a ground-rule double but was stranded as Hanley Ramirez grounded right back to Bauer for the first out. Travis Shaw flied out and Jackie Bradley Jr was intentionally walked to a chorus of boo's from the Fenway faithful. It was the right move to make as Ryan Hanigan grounded out to end the inning.
Juan Uribe struck out to start the top of the third. Lonnie Chisenhall whiffed and Chris Gimenez flied out to end the inning. The Sox struck big in the bottom of the third. Blake Swihart flied out but Mr. Mookie just missed a home run with a double high off the monster. Pedroia singled Mookie to third and Bogaerts singled Betts home for a 1-0 lead. Ortiz singled to load the bases and Ramirez singled home Pedroia and Bogaerts to make it 3-0. Shaw flied out and JBJ was unintentionally intentionally walked to re-load the bases. Hanigan grounded into a force to end the inning but it was still 3-0.
Davis grounded out to open the top of the fourth and Kipnis grounded out as well. Lindor flied out to end the inning. 12 up, 12 down for Kelly. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth. Swihart whiffed but Mr. Mookie finally cleared the monster with his 8th homer of the year to make it 4-0. Pedroia grounded out and Bogaerts flied out to end the inning.
Kelly ran into trouble in the top of the fifth. Napoli struck out but Santana walked. Byrd walked but Kelly blew away Uribe with a 95 mph fastball. Chisenhall walked to load the bases and Hanigan made a run saving play by blocking the plate on a grounder to Kelly by Gimenez to end the inning. The Sox failed to capitalize on Hanigan's heroics as Ortiz grounded out to start the bottom of the fifth. Ramirez grounded out and Shaw flied out to end the inning.
Kelly came back for the sixth and got Davis to pop up. Kipnis grounded out and Shaw then played "OLE!" with a ball hit by Lindor. It was ruled an error to keep the no-no intact and Napoli whiffed to end the inning. Many wondered how Kelly would fare in his first start back and he was 9 outs from a no-hitter. JBJ reached on an infield single and Hanigan was plunked on the wrist to chase Bauer in the bottom of the frame. Hanigan looked pretty hurt but Jeff Manship came on and got Swihart to pop up. Mr. Mookie popped up but Pedroia walked to load the bases. Bogaerts flied out to end the inning.
Many questioned whether or not to send Kelly back out for the seventh since it was his first start back from injury, but there he was to open the top of the inning. Santana grounded out and JBJ made a great diving catch to preserve the no-no with just 7 outs to go. Unfortunately Uribe doubled to break it up and chase Kelly. Still, 6 2/3 shutout innings was a great way to make the comeback. Junichi Tazawa came on to finish the inning and he got Chisenhall to strike out swinging to end the inning. The Sox unloaded on Indians pitching in the bottom of the seventh. Kyle Crockett was the new pitcher and Ortiz grounded out. Ramirez legged out a swinging bunt and Shaw doubled him to third. JBJ was intentionally walked and Joba Chamberlain was brought in to pitch to Hanigan. Sox manager John Farrell countered with pinch hitting Christian Vazquez for Hanigan, who's injured hand was too much for him to continue. Vazquez forced Ramirez at home but Swihart walked home Shaw to make it 5-0. Mr. Mookie continued his grand day by hitting a grand slam, giving the proverbial finger to old nemesis Chamberlain and giving the Sox a 9-0 lead. Pedroia walked and Francona had enough of Joba the Mutt. Dan Otero was brought in and Bogaerts legged out an infield single. Chris Young pinch hit for Ortiz with the game all but over and grounded out to end the inning.
Marco Hernandez took over at second base for Pedroia, Josh Rutledge was in the batting order for Ramirez but was at third base as Shaw moved to first with Vazquez catching. Gimenez grounded to third to begin the top half of the eighth inning. Michael Martinez pinch hit for Davis and struck out. Kipnis grounded out to end the inning. Jose Ramirez took over at second base as Martinez remained in centerfield. Rutledge struck out but Shaw doubled. JBJ advanced Travis to third on a grounder but Vazquez grounded out to end the inning.
Heath Hembree had mop up duty in the ninth inning. Lindor lined out and Napoli earned a golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout, but Santana broke up the shut-out with a solo blast. Byrd walked and Uribe whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won 9-1
We have Co-Heroes of the night. First is Mookie Betts. He was 3 for 5 with a grand slam, solo home run and a double...good for 3 runs scored and 5 rbi's.
The second hero of the night is Joe Kelly. "Machine Gun" Kelly tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings to improve to 2-0 on the year. He allowed just 1 hit and 3 walks while striking out 7
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored. Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi. David Ortiz was 2 for 4. Hanley Ramrirez was 2 for 4 with 2 rbi's. Travis Shaw was 2 for 5 with a run scored. Jackie Bradley Jr extended his hitting streak to 26 games by going 1 for 2 with 3 walks and a run scored. Junichi Tazawa tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Bad:
Chris Young pinch hit for Ortiz and grounded out. Josh Rutledge struck out in his only plate appearance. Ryan Hanigan was 0 for 2 before leaving with a bruised wrist. Heath Hembree gave up a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2 but scored a run. Blake Swihart was 0 for 3 but walked, scored a run and drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Marco Hernandez played second base in the 8th and 9th innings.
Final Thoughts:
Other than the injury to Hanigan, that was a nice feel good story. JBJ and Bogaerts continue their hot streaks and Joe Kelly damn near threw a no-hitter. If he can come back and be the pitcher he was at the end of last year, that gives the Sox 4 solid starters out of 5. The injury to Smith extended the game to 6 innings to beat the Sox, but if the quartet of Rick Porcello, David Price, Kelly and Steven Wright can go 6, most of the time they'll win. The win improved the Sox to 26-17, one game behind the Baltimore Orioles who rallied in the 9th to beat the LA Angels. Tomorrow Porcello pitches the finale of the series at 1:35 PM against Danny Salazar.
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