The KBO’s best reverse-export pitcher…five-game winning streak, NL’s most complete games, 2.83 ERA, “reminds me of Greg Maddux,” raves the enemy general.

Merrill Kelly (35-Arizona Diamondbacks), the most successful foreign-born player in the KBO to make it to the majors, has won again. He continues to pitch impressively, drawing comparisons to Greg Maddux, the best control pitcher in major league history.

Kelly pitched 6 1/3 innings of four-hit ball with two walks and 10 strikeouts in Arizona’s 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on 29 September at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. His second 10-strikeout game of the season, following one against the Washington Nationals on the 6th.메이저사이트

Riding a five-start winning streak that began against the Colorado Rockies on May 29, Kelly won his sixth start of the season, lowering his ERA from 2.93 to 2.83. He is tied for first in the NL in wins and fifth in ERA.

After starting the game with a three-hit shutout against Boston’s potent lineup, Kelly gave up a leadoff single to Masataka Yoshida in the second, but retired the next three batters. With runners on first and second in the third, he got Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers to ground out to end the inning.

After giving up a leadoff single to Yoshida in the fourth, Kelly struck out two to end the inning and retired the side on 12 pitches in the fifth. He retired the next three batters he faced in the sixth, except for a single to Justin Turner. Verdugo, Devers and Yoshida all struck out looking on pitches in the zone.

In the seventh, Kelly struck out the first batter he faced, Jared Duran, on a curveball, then gave up a single and a walk to put runners on first and second. Reliever Andrew Chaffin gave up a single to Verdugo, ending Kelly’s day with one run.

He threw a total of 108 pitches, evenly distributing his six pitches: four-seam fastball (32), changeup (23), sinker (22), cutter (19), curve (10) and slider (2). His fastball averaged 92.9 mph (149.5 km/h), with his sinker topping out at 94.9 mph (152.7 km/h).

According to MLB.com, after the game, Boston manager Alex Cora said, “Kelly has pitchability. We had some good at-bats against him, going to full counts, but he mixed up his pitches.” “In an era where we talk about overpowering pitches, his command is so complete that he can throw it anywhere he wants, like Greg Maddux did back in the day. We battled against him, one of the best pitchers in the league, and we just couldn’t get it done. Hats off to him.”

With the 6-3 win behind Kelly, Arizona snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided a sweep in Boston. It was his 30th win of the season. Corbin Carroll’s leadoff homer (eighth of the season) in the first inning was followed by Gerardo Perdomo’s solo shot (fifth of the season) in the second to give Kelly some early support.