Right-hander Merrill Kelly (35, Arizona Diamondbacks), who played for SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in the KBO League in the past, is making a big success in the Major League (MLB) this season.
Kelly started in the 2023 MLB Boston Red Sox home game held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on the 29th (Korean time) and fought hard with 4 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts and 1 run in 6⅓ innings.메이저사이트
Kelly, who went down the mound in the 7th inning with a 4-0 lead, 1 company, 1st and 2nd base, won her 6th win (3rd loss) of the season as the team finally won 4-2.
With this, Kelly tied for the most wins in the National League with Mitch Keller (Pittsburgh Pirates), Jack Gallen (Arizona), Justin Steel (Chicago Cubs), and Clayton Kershaw (LA Dodgers).
In addition, his ERA (ERA) was brought down to 2.83, ranking 5th in this category. The batting average (0.192) is second, and the most strikeouts (69) is 10th.
Kelly is a player who played for SK from 2015 to 2018. He left behind a record of 48 wins, 32 losses and an ERA of 3.86 over four seasons in Korea.
He had no big league career before, but he succeeded in entering the big league as a member of Arizona in 2019, using his successful career in Korea as a stepping stone.
Kelly, who played as a built-in starter from his first year in the big leagues, wrote a ‘reverse export success story’, such as being on the US national team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). He even started as a starting pitcher in the WBC final against Japan.
Kelly of Arizona. ⓒ AFP=News1
Kelly is showing great skills even entering the season. Starting with the second starting game of the season, against the LA Dodgers on the 7th of last month, he is responsible for 5 or more innings in 10 consecutive games, showing his appearance as an innings eater.
During this period, he achieved quality starts (less than 3 earned runs in 6 innings) 6 times. His fastball speed is not particularly outstanding at an average speed of 150 km per hour, but he has become a high-level pitcher by developing accurate pitches and the ability to use breaking balls.
On this day, he showed an elaborate command against Boston as well. While throwing 108 pitches, Kelly stole the opponent’s timing by using various breaking balls such as changeup, cut fastball, sinking fastball, curve, and slider.
Even the enemy commander was surprised by Kelly’s performance. In an interview with MLB.com after the game, Boston manager Alex Cora praised Kelly, mentioning Hall of Fame inductee Greg Maddux.
Maddox is a legendary player who made his MLB debut in 1986 and left his name playing for various teams such as the Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Dodgers, and San Diego Padres.
Coach Cora said, “Kelly’s pitching was perfect today. He used the strike zone enough to remind me of Maddox. He’s one of the best pitchers in the league. We fought him, but we couldn’t win.”