It’s never good when your starting pitcher has to leave in the third inning. It’s even worse when you have a shallow bullpen and rotation.
Joe Kelly looked great to start Tuesday’s Boston Red Sox-Baltimore Orioles matchup and was seeking his ninth straight win. But in the third inning, the pitcher simply didn’t look right.
Kelly had breezed through the first two innings, striking out four batters, but he gave up three singles in the third and left with what was revealed to be right shoulder tightness and fatigue. He ended his night having allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits over 2 1/3 innings.
But more importantly, he left the bullpen with a tall task. Boston’s relievers have cracked under pressure this season, but Tuesday was a different story. Seven pitchers combined for just one earned run over nine innings, and would have been the story of the night had the Red Sox been successful.
However, there’s only so far a bullpen can go when it has to make it through extra innings after coming on in the third, and Robbie Ross Jr. and Jonathan Aro combined for the collapse. Ross came on in the 13th with Aro’s runners on the corners and gave up a walk-off single to Chris Davis.
There’s no word on whether Kelly could skip his next start — acting manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Kelly would be evaluated Wednesday — but it would be brutal for the Red Sox if he did. The club is trying to limit Eduardo Rodriguez’s starts and already has some injured starters.
Here are some more notes from Tuesday’s loss.
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— Speaking of Rodriguez, WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported Tuesday that the left-hander’s 2015 season has been capped at two more starts. If Boston goes to a six-man rotation, Rodriguez would be skipped only once.
— Speaking of taxed bullpens, reliever Junichi Tazawa will be shut down for the season. The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reported that the pitcher is not injured and the move relates to Tazawa’s workload.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. went 0-for-5 on Tuesday, giving him just one hit in his last 24 at-bats. Don’t be surprised if Brock Holt sees some outfield time in the near future to give Bradley a rest.
— Despite being nicknamed “Fenway South” by Red Sox fans, Camden Yards hasn’t exactly been a friendly venue for Boston of late.
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