ARLINGTON — On Oct. 28, 2023, Merrill Kelly stood on the mound at Globe Life Field and delivered the Diamondbacks their only win in the World Series.
That night, Kelly manhandled the 2023 Rangers’ electric offense, starting the night with three perfect frames and finishing with seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball. Texas would ultimately win three straight in Arizona to secure the first championship in franchise history. But Kelly stood alone as the only pitcher to really shut the Rangers down.
Now, less than two years later, Kelly stands on the mound at Globe Life Field again, now as a member of the Rangers. Texas acquired the 36-year-old Kelly at the Trade Deadline, fortifying a rotation that was already the best in baseball at the time.
On Sunday, Kelly showed just why the Rangers felt like he was a worthy addition to the staff. The right-hander dealt seven-plus scoreless innings against the Guardians, propelling Texas to a 5-0 victory and series sweep.
“I take a lot of pride in the fact that these guys did trade for me,” Kelly said. “I feel like games like today are one of the reasons why — just to add some more stability to the rotation and continue just the depth down the line. Obviously, I’m happy to be able to keep the line moving.”
This is Kelly’s first winning decision as a Ranger, as he and the bullpen combined for the club’s 12th shutout of the season.
“He has that pitchability that you love,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We saw the World Series with how well he pitched against us in that game. He’s got a calmness about him that you have to like. He changes speeds well, he hits his spots, in and out, he reads swings. He and [catcher Kyle Higashioka] worked very well out there today.”
Kelly cruised through seven innings before allowing a single and a walk in the eighth, ending his day. Reliever Danny Coulombe — also acquired at the Deadline — easily escaped the jam to maintain Kelly’s scoreless outing.
Kelly struck out eight Guardians compared to just 2 walks, recording his most strikeouts in a game since June 4 at Atlanta (also eight punchouts). He became the fourth pitcher to strike out Cleveland outfielder Steven Kwan multiple times in a game this season. Kwan has just nine games with two or more strikeouts this season.
“He’s been a really good pitcher in this league for a long time,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said of Kelly. “The criss-cross came down and away, criss-cross came up and in to our lefties, and then the changeup is the exact same spin and tunnel of his fastball. He just didn’t leave anything out over the plate for us to hit, and we couldn’t get anything going.”
A four-run burst in the fourth inning — including a two-run homer from Rowdy Tellez — provided all the run support necessary. Joc Pederson hit a solo homer in the seventh to add some insurance.
Kelly, Nathan Eovaldi (seven innings, four hits, one earned run) and Jack Leiter (seven innings, two hits, zero earned runs) combined to allow one run in 21 innings pitched in the sweep over the Guardians. They struck out 27 batters to just two walks, both issued by Kelly on Sunday.
The three consecutive starts of at least seven innings, four hits or fewer and one earned run or fewer occurred for the second time in Rangers history (also Sept. 21-23, 1977: Dock Ellis, Bert Blyleven and Gaylord Perry).
The rotation’s 0.43 ERA this weekend is the lowest in a single series (min. 15.0 IP) since Texas faced the Tigers in June 2019 (0.40, 1 ER/22.1 IP). It’s the lowest such ERA in a home series since Aug. 2005 against the Twins.
“I just feel honored to be a part of it,” Kelly said. “I feel honored that the organization and the staff felt confident enough in me to add me to those guys. [Jacob] deGrom and Evo, what they’ve done in this game, precedes anything. Obviously, Patrick Corbin has been doing it for a long time. Jack has got electric stuff for how young he is. So just to be in that mix, that definitely feels humbling. Just to be a part of the names like that with what they’ve done in this game, it means a lot.”
