Kelly hopes big hit earns him more swings
PHILADELPHIA » Ty Kelly got the Gatorade-bath treatment Thursday night after his pinch-hit RBI double plated the only run in a 1-0 win over the Red Sox to snap an infernal eight-game losing streak.
Friday, Kelly landed in the starting lineup, playing left field and batting sixth to open a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It’s just the utility man’s fourth start in 25 games with the Phillies since a March trade and his 14th start in 65 career big league games in a pro career spanning more than 950 games.
“I want to get Kelly in there,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “He feels pretty good about himself. I need to get him some atbats.”
“I feel like he’s had confidence in me in my time here,” Kelly said. “He hasn’t seen me play a ton … but the more I’ll get to play the more I’ll get to do some things that impress them. Anything positive that I can do is good: Moving a guy over, throwing a guy out on defense, all those things are positive.”
The positive Thursday was decisive, Kelly lacing a double into the leftfield corner off Boston ace Chris Sale, scoring Andrew Knapp, who chugged around from first after reaching on a bloop single. The two hits were just the third and fourth against the dominant lefty Sale, enough to back a strong outing by Nick Pivetta and end the skid.
“It’s nice to just be able to do something positive for the team,” Kelly said. “As a utility guy, my role is to just kind of fill in whenever it’s needed. We’ve been playing with a short bench recently, so getting in there today and give a guy a day off and hopefully I have another productive night. It’s part of the job description.”
Kelly entered Friday batting .241 (7-for-29) with five doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Mackanin also wanted to rest Daniel Nava, who came off the disabled list June 2 after a hamstring strain and had started five straight games. Michael Saunders, mired in an 0-for-18 stretch, sat again against lefty Patrick Corbin.
*** Pat Neshek got the win Thursday, working a scoreless top of the eighth around a double to Sale, to advance his record to 2-1 and lower his ERA to 0.72. It’s the lowest for a Phillies reliever through the first 25 innings of a season since Brad Lidge in 2008 and the lowest in the National League this season.
Mackanin believes the 36-year-old deserves an all-star nod. Neshek made the Midsummer Classic in 2014 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“He is what he is and he’s not the kind of guy that’s going to give you a lot of multiple innings, but we don’t need him to do that,” Mackanin said. “As effective as he is in the one-inning stints, I’d take him any time. He’s a gamer. I love watching him pitch. He’s got energy, is fun to watch, attacks the hitters, he’s been getting lefties out — except for Sale — but other than that, there’s nothing that I don’t like about him.”
Neshek is the exception in a bullpen that has posted a 4.64 ERA, 22nd in MLB.
*** Phillies starters have looked more lively lately, as in Ben Lively, who Mackanin said has made quite the impact in three starts. Lively is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA, going seven innings in each outing for a staff chronically short on quality outings.
“If I was a pitcher and I saw Lively pitch, well, it’s made an impression on me, and it should on the other pitchers, too, to attack the strike zone,” Mackanin said. “Not try to do too much, let your stuff get people out and try to throw strikes. And that’s what I see in Lively. He has that approach. He has good poise on the mound.”
Phillies starters endured a ghastly May, going 2-16 with a 6.55 ERA. In the first half of June, the staff ERA has fallen to 4.44.
*** Vince Velasquez’s right elbow flexor strain continues to progress at a cautious pace, Mackanin said. On the DL since May 31, the 25-year-old threw from 90 feet Friday. He’s scheduled to stretch out to 120-foot long toss Sunday with a bullpen session next Thursday.