KBO reverse export myth Merrill Kelly 35, Arizona Diamondbacks collapsed in the postseason with the Philadelphia Phillies. 토토 On his first Major League Championship Series stage, he gave up three home runs and unfortunately bowed his head.
The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-0 in Game 2 of the 2023 Major League National League Championship Series NLCS, best-of-seven at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the 18th.
As a result, Philadelphia, which succeeded in winning the first game 5-3 on the previous day 17th, won two consecutive home games and gained an advantage in advancing to the World Series. Now, Philadelphia will advance to the much-awaited World Series stage with just two more wins out of the remaining five games. On the other hand, Arizona must aim for a turnaround in Game 3 of the Championship Series at Chase Field, its home turf, at 6:07 a.m. on the 20th. If they lose the third game, they will actually be driven to the brink.
On this day, Arizona’s starting pitcher was Kelly, the main character of the KBO reverse export myth. Arizona lost the first game the previous day even after putting in ace Jack Gallen, so his shoulders were heavier on the day. On top of that, rookie Brandon Pot will start Game 3, and bullpen day is expected in Game 4. But it collapsed. He allowed three hits in five ⅔ innings, which all led to solo home runs. In the end, he had no choice but to come down the mound with 89 pitches, marking seven strikeouts and four runs four earned.
Kelly was a minor league prospect who had not been on the major league stage before joining the SK Wyverns the predecessor of the current SSG Landers in 2015. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth round of the 2010 MLB Rookie Draft 251 overall and made the Triple-A stage for the first time in three years. In 2014, he was invited to the Major League Spring Camp, which seemed to increase his chances of entering the big league roster, but he did not achieve his dream. Then, after heading to Korea at the age of 27 in 2015, he pitched in 119 games in four seasons until 2018 in the KBO League, with 48 wins, 32 losses and a 3.86 ERA. He has consistently played as an ace every season.
After playing with 11 wins, 10 losses and a 4.13 ERA in the 2015 season, his first year of joining the team, he recorded 9 wins, 8 losses and a 3.68 ERA in the 2016 season the following year. He then showed good performance with 16 wins, 7 losses and a 3.60 ERA in the 2017 season, and ended his life in Korea with 12 wins, 7 losses and a 4.09 ERA in the 2018 season. While pitching a total of 729 ⅔ innings in the KBO League, he recorded 749 hits 65 home runs, 206 walks, 641 strikeouts, and 341 runs 313 earned runs. In the 2017 season, he struck out 189 and became the king of strikeouts. In 2018, he helped SK win the Korean Series and ended his life in Korea and headed to the Major League.
Prior to the 2019 season, he signed a 2+2-year contract of up to $14.5 million (about 19.6 billion won). At that time, he was expected to play about four starting players, but he actually played the first starting role in his only full-time performance. In the end, the Arizona club signed a two-year, $18 million about 24.3 billion won extension contract that will take effect from the 2023 season before the 2022 season. This season, he pitched 177 ⅔ innings in 30 games, playing an ace role with 12 wins, 8 losses and a 3.29 ERA.
Kelly, who previously pitched in two postseason games with one win, no loss and a 1.29 ERA, led Arizona to the Championship Series stage. I’m trying to focus on everything, he told Arizona Sports ahead of the second game. I don’t think there’s anything for granted. This postseason is making me feel young. We have to continue to focus on every game and do what we do well, he said, strengthening his determination. Recalling his experience playing in the 2018 Korean Series, he said, Korean fans had a different cheering match than American fans. Each batter has a different cheering song. When the game is held in Seoul, 15,000 out of 30,000 fans sing the batter’s cheer song.
On the same day, the Philadelphia Phillies made the order of starting batters in the order of Kyle Schwarber designated hitter, Trey Turner striker, Bryce Harper first baseman, Alec Bohm third baseman, Bryson Start second baseman, J.T. Realmuto catcher, Nick Casteyanos right fielder, Brandon Marsh left fielder, and Johan Rojas center fielder. The starting pitcher was Aaron Nola, who had 12 wins, 9 losses and a 4.46 ERA this season.
In response, the Arizona Diamondbacks made up the starting batting order in the order of Corbin Carroll right fielder, Ketel Marte second baseman, Tommy Pham designated hitter, Christian Walker first baseman, Gabriel Moreno catcher, Luerdes Gurriel left fielder, Alec Thomas center fielder, Evan Longoria third baseman, and Geraldo Perdomo shortstop.
Kelly got off to a good start in the bottom of the first inning, inducing leadoff hitter Schwarber to ground out to second base, but allowed the next batter, Turner, to hit a solo shot to left in the second pitch. On this day, 45,412 spectators entered and exuded tremendous enthusiasm. And when Turner’s home run hit, the atmosphere of the stadium reached its peak. He continued to falter for a while, allowing a straight walk to Harper, but he finished the inning by blocking first baseman Harper’s steal at the subsequent start after dealing with a fly ball to center field in the spring. With three outs in the second inning, he made a good catch up to two outs in the third inning, but was beaten by Schwaber with a superior solo shot. The score was 2-0. After overcoming the fourth inning with three outs, he showed his power to strike out Casteyanos, Marsh, and Rojas in the fifth inning.