Jesse RogersESPN Staff Writer Oct 28, 2023, 11:21pm ET5 minutes read
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ARLINGTON – Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly was playing in the major leagues for the first time ever in front of his grandmother and was just five years removed from playing in South Korea. He made the performance of his life, helping topple the Texas Rangers in a 9-1 victory in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night.
Kelly, 35, pitched seven innings and gave up one run on three hits without issuing a walk. He also struck out nine batters and looked just as dominant on his final pitch – a beautiful moving sinker to freeze Rangers catcher Jonah Heim for strike three – as he did on the first pitch of the night.
“I could use every adjective to describe his outing,” teammate Evan Longoria said. “He’s been that for us all year.”
But Kelly was even better on Saturday, allowing the Diamondbacks to tie the World Series at 1-1. Game 3 is Monday in Phoenix.
“I think there’s a little bit of development, a little bit of maturity that shows up with him every time he plays,” said teammate Zac Gallen. “He takes matters into his own hands to get better with every single start. He is aware of it. He is present. And he’s getting better and better with every start.”
Kelly has actually pitched well throughout the postseason, allowing exactly three hits in each of his four starts. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he is the first pitcher in major league history to go at least five innings in a single postseason and allow no more than three hits in four consecutive outings.
He said he focused on taking things “one pitch at a time” after being unhappy with his two starts in the National League Championship Series, when he totaled six walks against the Phillies.
“Since then, my focus has just been on pure pitch execution, trying to win one pitch at a time – almost feeling like, ‘This is the biggest pitch of the game,'” he said. “And then when that pitch is done, keep the same mindset for the next pitch.”
It worked almost perfectly on Saturday, as Kelly used a five-pitch mix – half consisting of cutters and changeups – to keep the dangerous Rangers off balance. He became the fifth pitcher in World Series history to go at least seven innings while allowing three or fewer baserunners in a road game.
A hostile crowd and a strong opposing offense didn’t bother him.
“He got the ball where he wanted it,” Rangers designated hitter Mitch Garver said. “He had a game plan, he executed it, and we didn’t do our half.”
Kelly’s only error came against Garver, who hit a home run in the fifth to cut the Diamondbacks’ lead to 2-1, but even that sinker was well placed and went to Garver as he turned the barrel around. It was the last time the Rangers came near home plate.
Diamondbacks pitching strategist Dan Haren watched from the clubhouse.
“He moved the ball better than I’ve ever seen him today,” Haren said. “The number of times he hit corners on both sides with different pitch types was just incredible.”
According to Haren, Kelly was particularly good at being in “attack mode” when the Rangers were patient and taking corners when they were swinging. He seemingly “reads” the Rangers as well as anyone this postseason.
“When Merrill realized he was in the zone at the start of the count, I think that really opened things up for him,” Haren said. “He sent batters on their heels.”
Kelly was supported by a strong offense. Designated hitter Tommy Pham had four hits on the night, catcher Gabriel Moreno hit his fourth home run of the playoffs and second baseman Ketel Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to a record 18 games. Longoria did his part by participating in a World Series run for the first time in 5,479 days (2008) and making a sacrifice in the second part of his career.
“We did it in a way that was very reflective of the group that we are,” Longoria said. “It wasn’t the long ball. I just constantly put pressure on the opposing pitchers. You can feel the positivity of our team when we get our guys running the base. That puts more pressure on the pitcher.”
“There are some people who haven’t seen our brand of baseball all year, but that’s how we win games. I hope this was a good introduction.”
Closer Paul Sewald, watching from the clubhouse and then the bullpen, added: “If you had to face our lineup, you’d just be so annoyed.”
That’s undoubtedly what the Rangers’ hitters thought of Kelly, who recalled his time in Korea working to improve his game to get back to the big leagues. After being drafted, he spent four seasons overseas but never made it to the majors as a farmhand with the Tampa Bay Rays. He said those days stayed with him.
“I definitely had visions and images of myself sitting on that podium,” Kelly said. “The big league games over there are pretty much in the morning, pretty much when I wake up, because of the time difference. So that was kind of my routine. I woke up, made my coffee and looked up “big league baseball.”
Little did he know that he would eventually make it to the game’s biggest stage. And on Saturday, family and friends were in attendance, including his grandmother, whom he hadn’t seen since 2011.
“I feel like life gets in the way,” he said. “This baseball thing takes up a lot of time.”
When asked how his experiences shaped him, Kelly’s answer could be why he performed so well in Game 2.
“At this point in my career, nothing will shock me,” Kelly said. “I think going to Korea as a 26-year-old is a lot scarier than pitching in the big leagues or even the World Series, to be honest.”