The Boston Red Sox had a day off on Thursday, but that came after a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday to secure a series win.
Boston won the game in walk-off fashion, with third baseman Rafael Devers delivering the game-winning double off of the Green Monster, plating Tyler O'Neill.
While Devers will get a lot of the shine, the resilience from reliever Zack Kelly out of the bullpen in extras deserves praise as well.
With the ghost runner on second base, a wild pitch put him on third almost immediately. Kelly bounced back by striking out Justin Turner and forcing Leo Rivas to ground out.
However, Kelly hit Luke Raley with a pitch, and Dylan Moore drew a walk to load the bases.
Despite the struggles, Kelly bounced back and got Mitch Garver to ground into a fielder's choice, giving Devers the chance to win it in the bottom of the 10th.
After the game, Kelly shared his thoughts on his outing.
“It’s probably one of my favorite outings of the year,” Kelly said (via MassLive). “Last few outings, last seven to 10 days have been pretty tough mentally. Just trying to get over the hump, over the hump. Today was good. I needed that one.”
Kelly had been pitching strong before a rough stretch after the All-Star break.
“Sometimes I think I maybe need to flip the switch a little sooner than I do,” Kelly said. “There’s definitely times where it’s pretty easy. But I try to make sure no matter what that once I get to the field the next day, it’s gone. So I showed up today ready to work. Obviously, yesterday was pretty tough. But today I showed up, same routine, went through everything, got ready to go. And fortunately, I got another opportunity to go back out there.”
Hopefully, this is the start of another good run for the 29-year-old because the bullpen, as a whole, hasn't been great recently.
