BOSTON — Wednesday was a rough day for Joe Kelly.
The Red Sox right-hander, seeking his first win since April 11, found himself on the wrong end of a pitchers’ duel, allowing just two runs over seven innings but taking the loss as Boston fell to the Texas Rangers 2-1.
And frustration wasn’t all Kelly was feeling after the game. There also was the physical pain in his right hand caused by a sharply hit Shin-Soo Choo ground ball, and the fact, revealed after the game by manager John Farrell, that Kelly wasn’t exactly the picture of good health when he took the mound at Fenway Park.
Regardless, Kelly turned in his second consecutive quality start, allowing just one extra-base hit — a Robinson Chirinos home run — through his first six innings and blowing fastballs by Chirinos and Tommy Field to strand a runner on third in the seventh.
“After the third inning, he really settled in,” Farrell said. “Used his curveball a little bit more, he started to elevate some fastballs for some strikeouts, and on a night where he wasn’t completely healthy in terms of some illness that he was dealing with, he threw the ball exceptionally well.”
Kelly gave all credit to his ability to dial up the velocity, as he used his fastball, which topped out at 98 mph in the later innings, to finish off six of his seven strikeouts.
“My fastball was working for me tonight,” Kelly said. “My offspeed, I was giving up a lot of hits on those, my slider wasn’t breaking like it normally (does), and I couldn’t really throw a changeup over the plate, but I made some pitches when I had to and commanded my heater.”
As Kelly spoke after the game, a protective wrap encased his right hand. Team trainers examined the hand after the Choo comebacker in the third inning, and Kelly walked the next man he faced (his only free pass of the night) before settling down.
“It’s a little bit sore, but it didn’t affect the way I pitched out there,” he said. “I’m definitely going to ice it and keep trying to get the swelling down, but it feels fine.”
As well as Kelly pitched — the latest in a growing line of strong outings by Red Sox starters — his offense did little to back him up. A solo homer by Xander Bogaerts in the fifth was the only run Boston managed against Rangers right-hander Phil Klein, who picked up the win in his first major league start.
The Red Sox put a charge into a number of balls — Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez both were robbed by web gems or perfect positioning — but left 12 men on base for the second time in as many games and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Kelly has allowed three runs in 13 1/3 innings over his last two starts, equaling the number of runs his team has scored in those two games.
“It’s baseball,” Kelly said. “We lost 2-1. The guy over there pitched a good game, and sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
