August certainly has been kind to Joe Kelly.
Kelly guided the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Saturday at Citi Field to go a perfect 6-for-6 in starts this month.
The Red Sox now have won two straight against the National League East-leading Mets, beating New York’s two top pitchers in the process in Matt Harvey and Saturday’s starter, Jacob deGrom.
GAME IN A WORD
Persistence.
Neither Harvey nor deGrom pitched poorly, but the Red Sox were able to chase both after just six innings. While they waited until Harvey was in the dugout to strike Friday night, the Sox eventually softened up deGrom enough to touch him for two runs in his final frame.
The Mets had won eight consecutive deGrom starts entering Saturday, and the right-hander had not taken a loss since July 2.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Red Sox’s bullpen tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief after 7 1/3 strong frames by Kelly. Boston won each of the right-hander’s six starts in the month of August, with Kelly earning the W in all six.
In his last five starts, Kelly has allowed just six total earned runs.
ON THE BUMP
— Kelly was able to keep the Mets off the board in the first, but the scoreless frame was hardly a walk in the park. Kelly surrendered a leadoff double, walked a batter and needed 30 pitches to complete the inning.
New York put another man in scoring position in the second when Juan Uribe singled and proceeded to advance one base each on consecutive groundouts. A third straight groundout ended the inning, however, stranding Uribe on third.
Kelly faced just three batters in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and despite his laborious first, he entered the seventh with just 87 pitches under his belt. The Mets did put the leadoff man on in the third and the fifth, but double plays wiped both runners off the basepaths.
New York finally got on the board in the seventh, but a couple of stellar plays by third baseman Pablo Sandoval helped limit the damage to one run. Kelly Johnson singled and came around to score on a Uribe double.
Kelly retired the first batter of the eight before departing, his 7 1/3 innings tying his career high.
— Tommy Layne relieved Kelly. He walked a batter but retired the other two he faced to end the eighth.
— Jean Machi worked a perfect to pick up his fifth career save and his third in a Red Sox uniform.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— deGrom has been downright filthy at Citi Field this season, and he more than lived up to the hype in the early innings. The 27-year-old breezed through the Red Sox order, retiring the first nine batters he faced while striking out five.
Mookie Betts reached on an error by shortstop Wilmer Flores to lead off the fourth inning, but deGrom responded by retiring three in a row — including two more K’s — to keep the no-hitter intact — for one more batter, at least.
— Brock Holt led off the fifth with a single up the middle. He went on to take second on a wild pitch, and Alejandro De Aza worked a walk after Blake Swihart and Jackie Bradley Jr. both struck out. Kelly, who runs very well for a pitcher, then tried to help out his own cause by dropping down a two-out bunt, but deGrom’s throw to first just barely beat him to the bag.
— Despite being no-hit for four innings, it was the Red Sox who drew first blood. Betts led off the sixth with his second single of the afternoon, took second on another deGrom wild pitch and scored on a double to deep right-center field by Sandoval.
Sandoval scampered to third on a Xander Bogaerts flyout — narrowly beating the throw of cannon-armed former Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes — but squandered a chance to put the Sox ahead 2-0 when he chose not to run home on a wild pitch that rolled out all the way to the backstop.
The poor read ultimately did not cost Boston, however. Travis Shaw walked in the ensuing at-bat, and Sandoval scored when the Mets were unable to turn a double play on a soft ground ball by Holt.
Bradley struck out to strand runners on the corners, but that seven-batter frame spelled the end for deGrom. He exited having allowed two runs on four hits in six innings of work, walking two and striking out 10.
— For the second straight game, the New York bullpen allowed a run in its first inning of action. Reliever Hansel Robles struck out the first two men he faced before leaving an 0-2 fastball over the plate for Betts. The center fielder smoked it over the wall in left, stretching Boston’s lead to 3-0.
— The Red Sox put two men in scoring position in the eighth thanks to a Travis Shaw double and a Swihart walk, but a Bradley strikeout ended Boston’s threat.
— David Ortiz pinch-hit in the pitcher’s spot in the ninth and doubled off the wall in center.
TWEET OF THE GAME
If pen holds on @JosephKellyJr would join Martinez, Clemens, & @TimWakefield49 as Sox P's w/ 6 win mos in last 35 yrs pic.twitter.com/WtBgGczvnR
— Tom Caron (blue checkmark redacted) (@TomCaron) August 29, 2015
UP NEXT
The Sox and Mets will finish off their three-game series Sunday afternoon, with Wade Miley opposing Noah Syndergaard.
Thumbnail photo via Andy Marlin/USA TODAY Sports Images
