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Red Sox ride Kelly’s no-hit bid, Betts’ slam
- Updated: May 22, 2016
BOSTON — Joe Kelly was brilliant in his return to action, firing 6 2/3 no-hit innings before Juan Uribe cracked a double into the gap in right-center to break it up. Mookie Betts backed Kelly with two homers, including a grand slam, as the Red Sox rolled to a 9-1 victory over the Indians on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Even if the no-hitter had stayed alive, Kelly wouldn’t have been able to complete the game due to the fact it was his first game back from the disabled list and he was on a pitch count. The righty threw 104 pitches, the last of which Uribe hit for the double.
“Overall command of the fastball was very big today,” said Kelly. “I was throwing it to both sides of the plate. I just felt super strong out there. All the work we’ve been putting in since I went on the DL of getting the shoulder stronger in the training room, it’s just good to go out there and not even think about it and get a little more extension on the fastball and all the other pitches with that strong shoulder.”
• Kelly thrilled by power in shoulder
When manager John Farrell came out to get Kelly, the Fenway faithful gave him a standing ovation. Coming off a right shoulder impingement that had sidelined him since April 20, Kelly walked three (all of them during the fifth inning) and struck out seven.
“Everything,” said Indians manager Terry Francona, when asked what Kelly had working for him. “He’s got a really good arm, as you could see. And then he started getting comfortable out of the windup. He started throwing breaking balls, even when he was down in the count, which makes it really tough.”
It was an all-around, strong day for the Red Sox, who jumped out with three runs in the third and led for the rest of the day. Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 26 games with an infield hit in the sixth. The streak is the longest in the Major Leagues this season and the longest by a Red Sox player during a single season since Manny Ramirez in 2006.
The Red Sox extended their franchise record streak of at least one homer to 21 games when Betts belted a solo homer that just cleared the Green Monster in the fourth. Boston blew it open with a five-run seventh, led by Betts hitting his second career slam.
“I just want to have a good at-bat,” said Betts. “I got a pretty good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it. I think if anyone is up at that point, you just kind of assume that something good is going to happen, and that’s the way we handled our at-bats today.”
Trevor Bauer went five-plus innings in taking the loss for the Indians. He gave up eight hits and four runs. Cleveland’s lone offensive breakthrough came in the ninth, when Carlos Santana belted a solo shot over the wall in left for his eighth homer of the …
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